A Thousand Years
by Shadow Wolf 359
Summary: Told from Raziel's point of view, about the situations he experienced during the thousand years he faithfully served Kain before his execution. M,M situations, language, blood and gore. Please R&R! CHAPTER 19 UP!
1. Chapter 1: My Awakening

A Thousand Years

Chapter One: My Awakening

Disclaimer: HAH! Yeah, I wish. XD

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The very first thing I remember about my life is opening my eyes to stare into a pair of blue-white eyes. Those eyes were slanted at the corners, and they looked like they should have belonged to a Siberian Husky. The eyes moved back and I saw milky white skin, pointed ears, long white hair, and the sharp, noble features of a man.

I sat up slowly and stared at the man who was watching me expectantly. He was quite tall and well-built, with black-painted lips and nails - no, claws. One eyebrow lifted upon his forehead as he waited for me to speak.

"Who... are you?" I asked. My voice came out croaky and hoarse. I was suddenly aware of a sensation within me, a hunger so intense I could hardly contain it. A hunger for what, I did not yet know.

"I am Kain," the man responded. "And you are Raziel, my firstborn son and lieutenant. Rise, Raziel. I'm sure you are hungry." He placed one hand on his hip and waited while I climbed up slowly out of the padded stone box I had awakened in.

"Yes, I am hungry," I agreed hesitantly, "But I'm not sure what I'm hungry for."

"Blood, Raziel. We are vampires, and we feed on blood to sustain us." He lifted one of his claws up to his wrist and punctured it, allowing a trickle of thick, crimson liquid to trickle down his wrist. I stared at that small scarlet rivulet, entranced.

A tap on my head brought me back into awareness, and I suddenly realized I had Kain's punctured wrist held between my claws, with the overpowering scent of blood in the air and the sweet, sweet taste on my tongue. I licked my lips and looked up at Kain, confused. "...How did I get here?"

Kain chuckled, a deep and sinister sound, as he drew his wrist away from me and I reluctantly let go. "It will be like that for the first couple of times you feed. You will be completely lost in the act of drinking blood and you will not realize what you are doing. Now come. I do not wish to loose any more of my own blood to you. Besides, human blood is more pure and delicious." He turned and picked up something, tossing the black bundle in my direction. Instinctively I reached out and caught it. It turned out to be clothing: a pair of black leather pants, a leather v- necked shirt that left my stomach exposed, and a pair of boots.

I looked down at the clothing I currently wore and blinked. I was wearing old, rusty armor that may have once been red and gold in color, but was now brown and crumbling with age. Beneath it, the tunic and pants were moth-eaten, nothing more than paper-thin scraps, and the metal boots pinched my toes and were far from comfortable. I shed my clothing and let the armor fall to the ground with a sharp clatter that made me grimace as the loud sound resonated in my sensitive ears.

Kain simply looked on patiently as I donned the cothing he had given me. The leather fit snugly against my body like a second skin, and I found I rather liked it. It wasn't until after I had dressed that I got a good look at my surroundings.  
We were in a room that allowed no light to penetrate it, but this did not bother me because my eyes cut through the darkness to see everything around me in vivid detail. The stone coffin I had just emerged from was not the only one in the room. There were five others, each with names chiseled into them. My coffin did indeed have my name, and on the other coffins, still closed, had their own names: Turel, Dumah, Rahab, Zephon, and Melchiah.

"Do those coffins hold vampires as well?" I asked Kain as I turned to face him. He shook his head, causing his long white hair to ripple.

"No, Raziel, not yet. They hold the long-dead corpses of humans, your former brethren. You were human once too, until I changed you."

"Why me?" I asked in confusion, looking to the others. "Why not one of them?"

"I made you first because you were the strongest of all these humans when you were alive. Now you will be my strongest son in unlife, and they will be your brothers. But before I make them, I must allow my powers to recover. Making vampires is a very draining process and I need to take care of you first.

I nodded, it made sense. He then motioned with his arm and turned to walk out of the tomb, while I fell into step behind him. I was very curious to find out what there was to know about this world.

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Author's Note: Ah, my first post on Hope you guys like this story, I'll post the other couple of chapters I've already written out. As for some information as to how often I usually post new chapters, that depends on how fast and often my mind can think of what to write. But since summer school is ending, I'll have more time to write. Sorry I can't give anyone a more dependable schedule. 


	2. Chapter 2: Hunting and Feeding

A Thousand Years

Chapter Two: Hunting and Feeding

Disclaimer: Don't own it. No suing.

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I emerged from my tomb into a barren wasteland. There was little plant life. The few trees were barren, with dry and crumbled leaves hanging precariously from the branches. The shrubs were naught much more than matted tanges of thorns and branches, the sparse blades of grass yellow and shriveled. Stone and broken pieces of colored glass littered the area around us. It was a labyrinth made from the crumbled remains of a once-grand piece of architecture. The sky overhead seemed the most beautiful thing about this world, the crescent moon casting a dim glow upon the land along with the stars that glittered like diamonds over the vast expanse of obsidian sky.

I had little time to stop and look around, for Kain impatiently led me through the rubble, bounding with ease over the pieces of rock, barely touching the stone before he was airborn again. It was almost as if he could fly. I watched in awe until he stopped, balancing with perfect ease atop a large crumbled stone wall. "As a vampire," he told me, and even though he was speaking at a normal tone I could hear him perfectly well from a good thirty feet away, "you are gifted with inhuman strength, speed, stamina, and senses. With your strength, you can move stone as if it were paper. With your speed, you can outrun a horse. With your stamina, you can run all night without feeling exhausted. Your eyes are able to pierce through the darkest shadows and make out the finest detail from things far away. Your nose can smell things you would never be able to as a human. Your ears can pick up the sound of a mouse burping from a hundred feet away."

He beckoned me forward and I decided to try what he had done before. I began leaping with ease over the rubble, sharp eyes catching every possible foothold. It was almost too easy. Suddenly one of the stone slabs I had jumped onto shifted beneath me, causing my foot to slip. I gasped and tumbled forward, falling, landing roughly on the edge of the stone slab. The sharp edge dug into my stomach and I temporarily had the wind knocked out of me. The sound of a deep, sinister chuckle caused me to roll my eyes up to look at Kain, who was now standing over me.

"Not bad for a newborn fledgeling, Raziel, but you cannot simply look out for footholds. You have to look out for the places where the rock will slide or crumble from beneath you, and avoid these places if at all possible. And if you happen to overlook one of these particular places, don't panic and take root to the spot. Leap to the next area before you can loose your footing." When it was clear he wasn't going to offer me a hand up, I slowly climbed to my feet, but resisted the urge to clutch my abused stomach. Kain expected me to be strong for him and I would do my best to live up to his expectations. I would not allow myself to appear weak.

Kain appeared satisfied with this and continued through the rubble at a strolling pace while I fell into step behind him. "There are many more things you can do as well as what I have told you thus far. Gliding, for one. If you find yourself falling from a great height or simply want to land from a high jump quietly, spread out your arms and your fingers, like so." He spread his arms out to the side, palms outward, fingers splayed, elbows slightly bent, arms tilted downward. "Doing this will slow your descent, but you must also use your force of mind to help yourself to glide."

I watched him in fascination, eager to learn more. He must have seen my enthusiasm in my face, for he smiled in approval and went on. "Normally humans can jump perhaps a foot in the air, maybe two at most without help. As a vampire you can leap upward eight to ten feet on a normal jump. A high jump will vault you some twenty feet in the air."

"Show me?" I asked him eagerly, but he waved me off with a hand.

"Not yet, Raziel, but when we get into the village I will." He pointed up ahead and I could see the outlines of buildings. There were perhaps one or two candle-lit rooms, but most of the villagers were asleep. While we approached the village, Kain continued his lecture. "Vampires also have what are known as Dark Gifts. Each Dark Gift is unique to every vampire. You will gain Dark Gifts as you age, but you can also acquire them by killing and draining the blood of a vampire that has one."

"There are more vampires?" I asked him curiously. "Will we be meeting any of them?"

"No, Raziel. We are the only two vampires in existence now," Kain replied solemnly.

"What happened to all the others?" I inquired, stepping up beside him to watch him. Kain's black lips were pursed and he heaved a sigh through his nose.

"They are all dead, Raziel. There used to be many vampires, but Moebius, the Guardian of Time, rallied enough warriors together to lead a crusade to kill off every last one of our kind."

"How did you survive?"

"I killed Moebius," Kain said with a nonchalant shrug. "The last vampire that was killed by Moebius's cause was named Vorador."

"Was he a friend of yours?" I was curious to know more about this, and as long as Kain didn't seem irritated or annoyed by playing Twenty Questions, I would continue to ask.

"An acquaintance," Kain allowed. "I'd met him before on many an occasion."

"What was he like?" We were drawing near the city and I could already smell all of the human life within, the warm, fresh, sweet blood. I shivered in anticipation.

"I always thought he was a pompous bastard. He was a very old vampire. He no longer looked human. His skin was a dark shade of green and his eyes were slitted and yellow, like a cat's. His ears grew large and pointed upon his bald head, again like a cat, as well as whisker-like extentions from his chin. His hands were cloven, consisting of two large claws and a thumb. His feet had two large talons to serve for toes. These changes were caused by stages of metamorphosis that we vampires go into every couple hundred years. Eventually, similar changes will probably come upon us - if we can survive that long."

I was fascinated by what he had to tell me about our kind. Like a dry sponge, I soaked up all of that information eagerly, and yearned to know more. But I could sense Kain's patience wearing thin, so I decided not to press him for any more information just now.

We entered the village, and I began to feel dizzy with the heavy scent of blood all around. It was very overwhelming. Kain nodded to me, understanding how I was feeling, and led me into a back alley. He whispered to me, and I almost jumped out of my skin when I realized the voice was in my head and Kain's lips weren't moving. He pointed with one clawed finger and I followed the direction it was pointing, seeing beneath a pile of rags an old man, apparently homeless. This will be your first victim, Raziel. While his blood will provide you with nourishment, you would get far more sustenance from a soldier or other stronger human, but you are not yet ready to take on that sort of challenge.

I leaned in close to Kain and whispered into his ear, my own voice hardly audible, but his pointed ears picked it up easily. "How do I Whisper with my mind?"

Kain replied with a shrug. Focus your thoughts at me. It is very simple.

I decided to give it a shot and looked at Kain, thinking, Can you hear me?

Kain nodded in approval. Yes. You catch on quickly.

How am I to kill him? I asked, motioning with a hand toward the sleeping man.

Go up behind him and snap his neck, quickly. If you do it right, he will die instantly. Too little force, and you will paralyze him, but not kill him. Too much force, you'll tear his head right off and make a big bloody mess.

I made a face at that mental image and silently walked up to the man, careful not to step on or kick anything that would give me away. Slipping around behind the man, I placed my hands lightly on each side of his face, and at Kain's nod, shoved my left hand forward while pulling my right hand back. The man's head snapped back with a sickening crunch, his breathing and his heartbeat coming to an abrupt halt. Along with the scent of blood I suddenly smelled something else, something sharp and foul. I gagged and covered my nose and my mouth, looking to Kain. I cried out in his mind, What is that foul stench?

He walked up as I adjusted to breathing from my mouth. That would be the man's bowels emptying. Often times when a person dies, their bowels loosen, and their waste products are expelled. Now you can drink his blood. You should do so quickly, for it tastes best when it's hot, and blood cools down fast. Instead of sinking your fangs into him, try this way: use your power to force his blood out of his body and into your mouth.

It sounded downright strange and grotesque to me, but if Kain wanted me to do it that way, I would try. I looked down at the body and opened my mouth, using my power to draw the blood from his body and into my mouth. The blood burst in a gush from the man's chest and flooded into my mouth, and I gulped it down easily. My eyes glowed red as I did so, and when all the blood had been drained from the man's body, I licked the remaining drops from my lips and closed my eyes. When the blood had first burst from the man's chest, I had almost stopped, almost backed off. It was disgusting, after all. But when the torrents of blood filled my mouth and coated my throat, I had known nothing but pleasure, ecstacy. It was like a drug, and while I drank that blood, I was in euphoria.

Kain was watching me again, and I could tell he was very pleased I hadn't flinched and backed off. He watched me with pride, and his pride in me made me feel proud that I was his son. I made a vow to myself then. When Kain made my former brethren into my brothers, I would be the best of them all. I would be Kain's favorite son, his second in command, his favored fledgeling. I would do anything for Kain, if it made him pleased. And as we moved off through the alleys to find other homeless wretches like the one I had just killed, I felt ready to take on the world. Little did I know that in time, that would be exactly what we would be doing.

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A/N: I promise it'll get better than this. It's kind of a diary, a timeline of sorts documenting Raziel's life. And in my attempts not to leave anything important out, I often put too much unnecessary crap. Any helpful advice would be appreciated, positive reviews will boost my self esteem and make me a happy girl, while flames will be endured, but not without much grumbling on my part. Hope you enjoy it! XD 


	3. Chapter 3: Rebirth of my Brethren

A Thousand Years

Chapter Three: Rebirth of my Bretheren

Disclaimer: Just the ideas are mine.

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As the night wore on, I had learned many things about my abilities. I had mastered jumps, high jumps, gliding, and feeding. I had learned many ways of how to kill. But as the eastern part of the sk y began to grow gray, I felt a strange uneasiness within me. "Kain?" He turned his head to look at me and I said quietly, "I think there's something wrong... I'm beginning to feel very ill at ease."

"It's the sun, Raziel. Night is turning into day." He motioned for me to follow as we left the city and headed back to where my tomb was. "The first hundred years of your life, you will have to take refuge during the daylight hours. If you are caught out in the sun you will ultimately burn and die. That is one of the three greatest weaknesses to vampires."

"And what are the other two?" I asked while we walked. The sky kept growing lighter and I, in turn, more edgy and tense.

"Water is one. Water to vampires is like acid, and it will eat away at your flesh. That is why it is wise to never get caught out in the rain, and to be careful when crossing streams and rivers. Oh and for goodness sakes, never try to feed on a bathing human." He must have seen my odd expression, for he chuckled. "I knew a vampire that had tried that once, long ago. Thought he could get a bit of sex out of his food before he killed her. She grabbed him and dunked his head in the water. When we found him, his body was whole but his head and neck were nothing more than bone."

I made a face of disgust. "I'll remember that. And the other weakness?"

"The other weakness is fire. It will burn at your body as if it were dry kindling. Some vampires have had the power to control fire as part of their Dark Gifts, but although their power may entitle them to use fire and not be harmed by doing so, this fire is made up of their own energy. Normal fire will still burn them."

We were at the tomb now, as the sky began to turn purple and pink along the eastern horizon. We slipped into the safety of the engulfing darkness and I looked to Kain. "Can you survive in the sunlight?" He had said that the weakness to sunlight would only last for the first hundred years of a vampire's unlife. I wondered then how old he was.

"Yes, I can," Kain replied. He sat cross-legged atop the coffin of Melchiah, watching me.

"How old are you?" I couldn't help but ask, sitting on the edge of my own coffin, trying not to yawn and failing.

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest, and I don't really care." Kain shrugged and motioned for me to lay down in my coffin. I did so, settling down on the sparse padding, lying on my side with my head cradled in my arm. "As soon as the sun rises, I suggest you get some sleep. You need your rest."

"May I ask one more question?" At Kain's patient nod, I asked, "Will I be able to make vampires of my own?"

"In time, Raziel. You are much too young right now. You won't be able to create your own fledgelings until you are about three and a half centuries old." Kain stretched out atop Melchiah's coffin, lying on his back, arms pillowing his head.  
Another yawn nearly split my jaw, and I decided to close my eyes. Sleep took me quickly into its embrace.

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As the sun set, I awoke, taking several moments to remember everything that had happened the previous night. I sat up slowly and saw that Kain was still asleep, lying on his stomach, his cheek rested against his folded arms, eyes closed. He somehow managed to retain his look of cold arrogance even in his sleep.

As if sensing my gaze, those slanted Husky blue eyes opened and regarded me with a wariness that startled me. Why would he be wary of me? Did he think I was going to attack him while he slept? I then wondered what kind of life he must have led to leave him so cold and uncaring. Well, I would try to show him I could be trusted with anything. I could never betray him.

He sat up and slipped down off of the coffin. "Tonight I will resurrect another of your brethren as a vampire and I will go through teaching him as I have taught you. You may follow us into the village and stay with us if you like, or you may go off and feed at your own desire, but try not to get caught."

I nodded to show I understood and stepped out of my coffin. "Which will you be resurrecting tonight?"

"The second strongest of your brethren, Turel." He walkd over to the coffin with Turel's name on it and slipped the stone covering aside as if it weighed nothing. A plume of dust whirled up in the air as well as the horrid stench of very old death. Out of curiosity I looked into the coffin and felt my stomach jump up into my throat at what I saw. There was a skeleton in battle armor with wisps of hair still sticking to the skull. Bits of withered flesh were still clinging in a few places to the bone, and there were dust and cobwebs within. He had been buried with a long battle axe, which was rusty and looked as if it would crumble if I touched it. The grinning skull was what repulsed me the most, with the empty gaping eye sockets.

"Did I look like that before you revived me?" I asked, repulsed.

He nodded.

I cursed my vivid imagination at the thought and wondered if vampires could vomit.

Kain stood over the body and held his hands out over it. He closed his eyes and I felt a surge of power coming from him. I stared raptly, awed as a portal opened up. A bright orb of light emerged and Kain gathered that orb of light and sent it down into the corpse along with some of his power to fuse it in.

I watched, entranced, as the internal organs began to reform. The heart, lungs, liver, stomach, intestines, kidneys, everything, covered over with flesh, muscle, and tendon. The skin grew back over, and the hair grew out the way it once was, long, thick, and black. Eyes formed in the skull, irises a dark brown, almost black, lidless, staring up sightlessly as the flesh began to grow over the face, and the grinning skull's canine teeth grew elongated and I could see through the gaping holes in his cheeks his tongue forming.

I found out that vampires could indeed vomit.

Straightening up slowly, I wiped off my mouth and looked to Kain, ashamed at having lost my composure. Kain glanced over at me as he worked at reanimating the corpse, and his look was mildly sympathetic - I felt relieved to know that he felt as disgusted by it as I did.

A sudden drum-like noise startled me, along with the sharp intake of breath. I knew that Turel's heart was beating now, and he was breathing... he was alive.

I dared to step closer and saw a strong, determined face staring up at me. The dark eyes flickered between us and he sat up slowly. His voice was deep and filled with an arrogance that could rival Kain's. "Who are you?"

"I am Kain, your master, maker, and father. This is Raziel, your older brother. And you are Turel, my new lieutenant." Kain's voice was sharp and commanding. He knew as well as I did that if he didn't set down the law here and now, Turel would try to walk all over him. And Kain would never allow that.

I stood back while Kain began to tell him what he already told me before, watching my younger brother. He watched Kain with a growing acknowledgement and respect of his superiority, but he did not ask as many questions as I did. Kain gave Turel clothing similar to what he had given me - black leather pants, black boots, and a black turtleneck sweater. As Turel stripped down, I disregarded my first suspicion that he used his arrogance to compensate for something. My eyes grew wide as I found out that he was hung like a horse.

A deep chuckling startled me and I looked back to Kain to find he was deeply amused by my state of shock. I felt my face grow warm and looked down, embarassed. Turel apparently didn't understand what was so funny and finished dressing.

As Kain led us back to the village so we could feed, I watched my younger brother. Unlike me, he was more inclined to be satisfied with the straight facts and didn't care for the details. He would follow Kain and serve him dutifully, I knew. But when his cold, dark gaze turned to me, I knew it would not be so easy where I was concerned. I would have to work to make him respect me.

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The following night Dumah was resurrected, and I had to pleasure of seeing Turel have to avert his eyes as soon as the coffin was opened. I gained a small personal victory knowing I had been able to stay and watch while he could not, and I kept doing so. I was even able to refrain from vomiting.

Dumah had a rather boyish face, with large blue eyes and dark brown, brushed back hair. He had a beautiful voice too, and seemed as eager to learn as I. He was just slightly taller than me and had a lithe and graceful body. I wondered if we could grow to be friends or not. I already knew there was little hope for finding a friend in Turel.

After Dumah came Rahab, a pompous bastard who I didn't care for from the start. He was much like Turel. And after Rahab came Zephon, a tall, thin, lithe individual with a rather smart ass attitude and semi-short, red hair, but we got along all the same. And at last, Melchiah: short, bald, and bad tempered. No one, not even Kain, much cared for Melchiah after that first night. He had been utterly disrespectful to everyone and acted as if he were the master and Kain was not. Kain finally lost his temper and displayed his power by blasting Melchiah with ease into one of the buildings of the village and knocking him unconscious in a single blow.

The next two weeks were spent feeding and learning from Kain as he taught us everything we might need to know about being a vampire. And finally, Kain came to us one night with a sword for each of us and told us that now was the time we learned to fight.

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A/N: More fun stuff next chapter. Melchiah bashing! Sorry all you Mel fans. . 


	4. Chapter 4: Sword Practice

A Thousand Years

Chapter Four: Sword Practice

Disclaimer: It's still not mine.

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"Over the next several months I will teach you how to fight with a wide assortment of weapons: swords, axes, spears knives, bows and arrows, and even your own claws. I expect all of you to give me your full attention during these lessons, not just to humor me, but because the skill syou learn with these will determine how long you ultimately live. Slack off and your skills will be less than worthy, and you'll probably be plucked off by a vampire hunter before your first century has gone by. One thing about humans is that you mustn't understimate them." Kain paced in front of us slowly as he gave his speech.

Melchiah scoffed. "They're just weaklings that can't even save their own skin. Why should I fear them?"

"Because, Melchiah," Kain growled with a touch of irritation, "the only humans you have encountered thus far have been peasants and homeless wretches. You have yet to meet a skilled warrior."

"I'm more than a match for any human," Melchiah sniffed indignantly.

"Oh you think so?" Kain tilted his head slightly, his voice light and mocking. Zephon and I flashed a grin at each other. This was going to be amusing. I couldn't wait to see what Kain had in store for Melchiah.

Melchiah frowned, then fumbled to catch the sword that Kain had tossed at him. He hissed slightly as he cut his palm upon the blade, and glared at Kain as he took hold of the sword as if it were nothing more than a sharp stick, with no posture whatsoever. "Come with me, Melchiah. I'd like to introduce you to a human warrior." He beckoned us all to follow and we did, leaving the village to head into the city not far away. There were far more humans here in the city, and we saw several armed humans walking around.

Kain singled one of those warriors out and smirked to Melchiah. "There you go. A human warrior, all alone. Why don't you prove to him how big and tough you are?"

"All right, I will." Melchiah shifted the sword in his hand and walked over to the human, grinning and showing his fangs. The human gasped and screamed, "Back to Hell with you, vampire!" as he lunged forward with his large battle axe in hand. Melchiah dodged the swipe easily and laughed arrogantly, swinging his sword at the warrior. But the warrior was expecting this, and swung his axe around to meet with Melchiah's blade, jarring it out of his grip and sending it flying. Melchiah stood dumbfounded for a second too long. The axe slammed into Melchiah's side and he fell to the ground with a scream of agony and terror, his side soaked with blood from a huge gash several inches deep. As the warrior raised his axe to swing it down on Melchiah's head, a clawed hand suddenly tapped the warrior on the shoulder.

Startled, the warrior looked over and sucked in his breath upon seeing Kain smirking at him. He whirled around, stumbling back while Kain stood calmly, a strange sword in his hand. There was a jawless skull on the hilt and the blade was double-edged and rippled. It looked to be a very old and magnificent weapon. The human seemed to recognize both vampire and blade, and whispered, "Kain!" I was momentarily startled to hear him speak Kain's name, but then Kain displayed to us what true swordsmanship was.

Kain lunged at the human and as he swung his axe to try to intercept Kain, he lifted his blade to parry the axe, despite its superior size. Ducking under the warrior's guard, he sliced into his unprotected stomach and sides, nimbly dodging the swinging axe. It was a deadly moonlit dance, and Kain was absolutely beautiful. The moonlight reflected off his long white hair, which was flying free with his movement. His Husky-blue eyes seemed to catch the silver moonlight, making them glow. His black lips were smirking, his sharp chiseled features cast into alternating degrees of shadow and light. His muscles rippled as he moved, each thrust, parry, and slice perfectly maneuvered. His deep, sinister laugh sent delighted shivers up my spine. Finally the human slumped down and Kain ran the sword through his chest. The human warrior let out a scream and died, and Kain telekinetically called forth the blood from the fallen warrior's body and fed.

I suddenly realized that we were all staring at Kain in slack-jawed wonder, and I closed my mouth and recovered my composure, slightly tugging at my tighter-than-usual pants, but I still looked upon my maker with awe. Melchiah would be a bloody fool to try to defy or contradict Kain again. Kain looked back toward us, the rippling blade of his sword dripping with blood that was black in the darkness of night. "This is what swordplay looks like after hundreds of years of practice and dedication. Not the clumsy hacking that Melchiah tried to pull off. No, swordplay is an art. It's a dance that must be perfectly choreographed if you are to come out of the dance alive. And your reward is not only your life, but the sweet, adrenaline-pumped blood of your opponent. The blood of a warrior is so much stronger than that of a peasant, and so much more delicious. The stronger the warrior, the stronger and more delicious the blood. Keep all of this in mind."

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The following evening, Kain drew me aside to begin my lessons on how to use a sword. I held the sword in my hand and frowned. "This blade is so dull... Surely one could not inflict much damage with a dull blade," I commented to Kain, testing the edge with my thumb.

"Well of course it's dull," Kain chuckled. "You wouldn't want to accidentally maul yourself during practice, would you?"

Well, he had a point – erm, no pun intended.

"Now," Kain continued, shifting to a fighting stance, "Take position, like I am doing. Face slightly to the right, your left arm forward, your right arm slightly behind. Spread out your balance on your feet and place most of your weight in the balls of your feet, not your heels. This is a good defensive stance, because when your opponent attacks you, you can deflect the blow with your left arm while attacking with your right. With your weight balanced, only a really hard blow will knock you off your feet."

I took position the way he told me to, and Kain walked around behind me, adjusting my stance. With his leg he nudged my feet a bit wider apart, his hands guiding my upper body into position. He lifted my arm up to my chest, held slightly out, while drawing my sword arm back slightly. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck and shivered, the skin where he touched me tingling with warmth. Kain spoke again, "Remember the feeling of this, Raziel, remember where everything is positioned."

He slightly lifted up my left arm, which had begun to drift downward, fingers brushing warm tingling fire over my bare arm. "Now, we'll start with a basic sword attack combination." He brought my right arm up, his chest pressed against my back as he held onto my arm and moved the sword down in a diagonal slash to the right. He then lifted my sword arm up again, twisting my wrist to reposition the blade to make a horizontal slash to the left, before drawing my sword arm up to make a downward slicing motion. All the while I could feel his body pressed against mine, his arms around me, guiding my arms, and I could feel the hard muscular curves of his body and found myself quite distracted.

He guided me through the moves twice more before placing his clawed hands on my shoulders and turning me toward a large wooden post. "Practice that combination on this post. I'll watch you to see how you perform." It took me a moment to come out of my daze, but I readjusted my stance and went through the combination attack, the dull blade chipping away into the thick wooden post. "The last move of the combination is rather slow and akward," I commented to Kain as I hacked down on the post in the third move again. "Surely the ones I fight will see it coming and have ample time to move?"

"Ah, that is true, Raziel, but when one does see a sword coming down at their face, it tends to make them back up and reconsider what they are doing." Kain watched me as I continued with the combination. "This will also require you using your imagination a bit on this one. Imagine the post before you to be something you despise and want to get rid of. If there's one of your brothers you particularly dislike, imagine the post to be them."

"Like Melchiah?" I smirked over my shoulder at Kain.

He laughed and nodded, "Exactly. Pretend that the post is Melchiah, acting all holier-than-thou, mocking you and taunting you." It wasn't that hard to do at all. I hated Melchiah just because he was so goddamned annoying. I imagined him standing there in all his puny arrogance and went into my combination more vigorously than I had before. Kain was watching as the sword moved faster and faster through the combination, and at the perfect moment he yelled, "Finish him!" Spurred by his voice, I spun around and slammed my dull blade into the post, slicing it clean in half. I stood panting for several moments, staring at the severed post, the adrenaline rushing through my blood. Lowering the blade, I looked to Kain, whose silver-blue eyes watched me with intense approval.

"Well done, Raziel, very well done. We will make you a top ranking swordsman in no time at all." I glowed under his praise and felt as though I were on top of the world. Now, please don't think I am so easily amused, but I was a young fledgeling vampire and I had just received praise from the one being that mattered to me, the one being I respected and admired the most. You may laugh at me, but he was all that I knew and I didn't know if it should have been any other way.

Kain dismissed me, and called Turel to take my place as he taught him next how to fight with a sword. I suddenly felt a flash of jealousy as I saw Kain placing his hands on Turel to adjust his stance as he had adjusted mine. Yes, I admit it, I was in love with Kain... Or lusting after him at the very least. But how could one not? His white alabaster skin, his long silken ivory hair, his elegantly slanted ice blue eyes, his tall and muscular form, the sharp chiseled features of his face, his deep and sinister laugh, and his prideful, arrogant, accented voice... I was completely smitten with him.

"Hey Raziel, is that a dagger in your pants or are you just happy to see me?" Zephon called out to me as he walked up.

I could feel the blood rush to my face and I scowled, "Zephon, that line was popular in ancient times."

"Ooh, you're blushing!" Zephon cackled. "Well at least some of that blood is getting back into your head. But seroiusly, what are you so happy about? Did Kain feel you up or something?"

If only, I thought to myself. Instead I replied with a question of my own. "Zephon, what do you think of Kain?"

"Me? He's pretty damn sexy, I think, and I love that evil laugh of his, even though I'd never want it directed at me." Zephon shrugged, then grinned at me. " You're infatuated with him, aren't you?"

"Completely and hopelessly," I admitted with a sigh, rubbing my forehead. "Zephon, please, promise me you won't let anyone else know. It's embarrassing enough just thinking about it."

Zephon laughed and slapped me on the back. "Don't worry about it, Raziel, my lips are sealed. Does Kain know?"

"I hope not! I haven't even the slightest idea how he'd respond!" The very thought made the blood rush back into my face.

"Hey, maybe he'd invite you to do a little more sword fighting after practice, if you get what I mean. Flesh against flesh instead of metal against metal?" He grinned at me and laughed as I glared at him in embarrassment. "But seriously, Raziel, I wouldn't be surprised if he did. You're pretty sexy yourself, you know."

I looked at Zephon, startled, and he nodded to me. "Seriously, you're quite a looker. You've got a very nice muscular body, high cheekbones, almond-shaped eyes, and they're a really nice stormy blue..." Note: Yes, my eyes were a stormy blue before they turned gold, just as Kain's eyes were a light blue before they too turned gold.

"But I'm short!" I complained bitterly with a laugh. "Melchiah's the only one shorter than me. I only come up to a little above Kain's shoulder!"

"Hey, height doesn't matter, Raziel. Look at me, I'm freakishly tall and willowy, almost taller than Kain for goodness sakes, and I'm the second weakest of the bunch." Zephon shrugged and spread his long slender arms.

"I suppose," I relented, shrugging. "Anyway, all that sword fighting has made me hungry. Not that kind of sword fighting!" I scolded Zephon at his sudden burst of laughter. "You're hopeless, Zephon! I'm going to go into Meridian and grab a bite to eat, if you'll pardon the pun."

Zephon laughed, shaking his head. "See you later, Raziel." I nodded to Zephon and bid him good luck with the sword practice before heading off towards Meridian. Little did I know the surprise that awaited me there.

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A/N: That's it for right now, I'm still working on the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it! 


	5. Chapter 5: Miya, the Witch

A Thousand Years

Chapter Five: Miya, the Witch

Disclaimer: (Singing) I was going to the park one daaay, in the merry merry month of Maayyy... I was taken by surprise, LoK had caught my eyes, but I still don't own it to this daaayyyy!

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Kain had advised us to steer clear from the human warriors for the time being, until we got a better grip on our fighting skills. The only problem was, with rumors of Kain having returned, the guards were roaming the city everywhere, and it was increasingly more difficult to dodge around them. I stuck mainly to the rooftops as I scanned the streets below for easy prey, having taken off my boots and gone barefoot. The claws on my toes provided better grip on the tiled rooftops than the boots did.

I was nearing the center of the city when the sound of music came to my ears: the patter of bongo drums, the hum and pluck of string instruments, and the coo of wind instruments. And over it all, a sweet voice sang. My curiosity piqued, I made my way towards the sound and perched on the edge of one of the roofs that looked down into the central square, which was lit with a golden glow from the fires.

Merchants were selling goods to the people that walked around, and on the stage was a beautiful girl singing and dancing to the music. Was it a celebration of sorts? I couldn't think of any other reason why humans would be out dancing and singing and selling goods in the middle of the night. I grabbed my boots and slipped them on again, making my way down into the square. Aside from being a bit on the pale side, I didn't really stand out from the crowd. As long as people didn't go getting a good look at my clawed hands, I didn't have to worry about being singled out as a vampire. My pointed ears were hidden beneath my hair, and I was careful never to show my fangs.

I noticed a lot of the humans of the female gender watching me as I approached the stage and watched the singing woman. For a moment I was nervous. What if they knew I wasn't human? But the way they were looking at me showed they were not frightened or angered at all. The look in their eyes was purely admiring. Zephon's words suddenly rang in my head. You're pretty sexy yourself, you know. Ah, so that was it. They were looking at me as a prospective mate.

The singer on the stage launched into a new song, and I was entranced by her voice and her lithe, graceful movements as she danced beautifully to the song. She kept the crowd entranced with her fluid movements, her voice as sweet as any dove. The entire crowd burst into applause when she finished, and I joined them, smiling as she bowed to them and took a break, walking off the stage.

It was then I saw that she, too, was trying to catch my eye, like many of the females had already tried tonight, but hers was curious rather than sexual. She smiled and motioned with her head for me to follow her. Curiously, I followed after her as she walked off the stage and led me into a tent, where she took a pitcher and poured herself a glass of water, taking a large sip of it. "I'd offer you some," she commented, looking at me with a smirk, "but something tells me you won't accept it."

I blinked and frowned, instantly wary. "Why did you ask me to join you here?"

She shrugged, taking another drink of water. "It's just that I thought, aside from Kain, all vampires were extinct. You're obviously a very young fledgling, Kain's son I imagine?"

I backed toward the entrance of the tent, not liking how much the woman seemed to know. "I thought I was hiding my vampiric traits well enough..." I ventured cautiously. "How did you know I wasn't human?"

"I used to have a friend that was a vampire, and from him I learned tiny vampiric traits not visible in most humans." She set her glass down and looked at me, tilting her head slightly to the side. "You move with a grace most people don't possess. Even while you watched me, your eyes kept glancing all around at the people surrounding you. It's the natural instinct of a predator singling out a weakling from a herd of prey. I noticed your gaze lingered on that crippled old man in the wheelchair."

I looked her over, and she didn't seem very threatening. She was not at all like the human warriors I had seen. She didn't have enough muscle mass, and seemed very relaxed and laid back. Her long black hair hung freely to her waist, green eyes watching me from beneath thick chin-length bangs. She was dressed in a slightly revealing dancer's outfit that hugged her shapely form, modest compared to what I had seen many of the warrior women wearing - or lack thereof.

Frowning at what she told me, I shook my head. "Kain told me that the last vampire, Vorador, died some four hundred years ago at least. I can see through your lie, human. None of your kind can live that long."

"Ah, but I am not a normal human, vampire." The woman smiled and refilled her own glass, taking another long sip. "I am from a line of witches that stop aging after they reach thirty. And you need not fear for your safety. I have no intention of harming such a good-looking vampire." She looked at me thoughtfully, and nodded. "You look better as a vampire than you did as a human. More graceful and gentle."

I stared at her in shock, rooted to the spot. "You knew me back when I was human?"

"Not personally, no, but I'd seen and heard of you." She smiled and set aside her glass. "How many more vampires are there now? Or is it just you and Kain?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked her warily, wanting to get out of here as quickly as possible, backing up farther toward the entrance to the tent.

"Mere curiosity, that is all. I mean you no harm." She stood and held out her hands to her sides, to perhaps show she was unarmed. She suddenly straightened and grimaced. "Oh, forgive me, my manners are atrocious tonight. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Miya. Am I correct to assume your name is still Raziel? Or did Kain change it?"

"I still have the same name," I replied cooly. I gave her a slight bow, never lowering my eyes from her. "If you will please excuse me, I still need to feed and the night grows short." I wanted to get out of there and report to Kain what had happened. I knew nothing of witches or what they were capable of.

"Of course, Raziel. Good hunting to you." She sat down once again and returned to nursing from her glass of water. Giving the woman one last glance, I turned to leave and ran right into the muscular chest of an extremely large guard. A muffled grunt came to my ears as I slowly lifted my head to the guard's face, my breath caught in my chest. The guard stared down at me, frowning, his eyes widening as the upward tilt of my head caused my hair to fall back from my pointed ears. His sudden bellow of, "VAMPIRE!" nearly deafened me, but if that didn't, then the next blow did. As I turned to run, he swung his battle axe around, but instead of hitting me with the sharp side of the blade, the flat of the massive weapon crashed into the side of my head and I blacked out.

* * *

When I came to, I opened my eyes to see a white, muscular chest. Lifting my eyes further I saw Kain's sharp features, black lips pressed into a thin line. He was cradling me against his chest like an infant as he sped across the land, out of the city and back towards our hideout. My head throbbed terribly and I was having a hard time hearing out of my right ear, which was caked with blood. "Kain...? What happened?"

"You were attacked by the very kind of guard I warned you to stay away from. What in the blazes were you doing?" he snarled down at me irritably.

"I... I didn't notice him until I ran into him..." Bad answer. Kain stopped and dropped me on the ground, looking at me in disgust.

"I expected better of you, Raziel. A vampire must always be aware of his surroundings and where his enemies are. What were you doing hanging around in the middle of a place like that anyway?"

Sitting up, humiliated twice over, I hugged my legs and stared at the ground, my throat tight. "I was curious as to what was going on... And the dancer..." I explained to Kain about how Miya had motioned for me to follow her and what we had spoken about in the tent, leading up to my departure with my intent to tell Kain what had happened and my running into the guard. I berated myself internally, disgusted with myself for being so careless and to cause Kain to be so disappointed in me. My chest ached in shame while my stomach growled its irritation that I never had fed that night.

Strong fingers grasped my chin with surprising gentleness as Kain turned my face upward towards his. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him, waiting tensely for whatever he planned to do. Crouched down beside me, he drew my face closer and lifted up his chin. "Drink, Raziel." I couldn't have been more surprised if he had told me he wanted to make hot, passionate love to me. Although it would have been nice...

I looked at my maker uncomprehendingly, unsure if I had heard him right. He frowned at me slightly and spoke in that deep, purring voice that I loved so much, "Feed from me. You haven't fed tonight and you aren't strong enough to go back into the city to hunt." I blinked, then slowly shifted closer, tense and excited, my lips brushing against his smooth throat before I pulled my lips back from my fangs and gently bit into his neck.

He tensed slightly at first as his blood began to trickle into my mouth, then slowly began to relax. I watched him as I fed, shuddering with ecstasy as the thick crimson liquid coated my mouth and throat, triggering the pleasure center in my brain. I loved the way he looked now, icy blue eyes half lidded, black lips ever so slightly parted, enjoying the pleasure of being fed from about as much as I enjoyed the pleasure of feeding from him. Slowly, I brought my hand up to slide it around the back of Kain's neck, twining my fingers in his hair. It was as soft and silken as it looked. When he gave no objection to this movement, I became a little bit bolder, and moved to press up against his chest, my free arm sliding around his back.

His blood was like a sacred wine, and I could feel myself grow stronger the more I drank. I could hear the gentle thud of his heartbeat in his chest quicken, and felt his arms slide around me, one resting against the back of my head, the other at the small of my back. There was no doubt in my mind that if there was a heaven, this would be it. Here I was, pressed up against the man I lusted after and respected more than any other being, our arms wrapped around each other as I drank from his blood. My body was alight with a fiery passion that threatened to consume all common sense.

I stopped feeding then, for I didn't want to drain him too severely, and I licked over the puncture wounds as the coagulant in my saliva closed the twin holes. But I didn't want to move back just yet. I remained pressed up close to Kain, lightly nuzzling into the hollow of his neck, arms wrapped around his hard, muscular torso. It seemed to end all too soon as Kain began to draw back, slipping out of my arms as he stood, as composed as ever. A quick glance put me at doubt if he even had an erection... but then again, those leather pants he wore were so tight, there probably wasn't room for one. Thank goodness the pants I was wearing had much the same effect.

Kain surprised me by offering me his hand, and I slid my hand into his, pulling myself up to stand before him. And suddenly, I found that I was feeling very shy. I couldn't look him in the face, but rather, kept my gaze on the muscular chest before me. Kain chuckled above me - I shivered with delight - and leaned down until his face was level with mine. Startled, I blinked into his steely blue eyes and was even more surprised when he leaned forward to lick some of his own blood from the corner of my mouth. I felt as if my knees would give way any instant and I would fall into his arms, begging for him to take me... But I somehow doubted that would impress him. Instead, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, and smiled back at Kain when he smirked at me.

We returned to the clan in silence.

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A/N: Woo, things are beginning to heat up a bit, eh? A very special thanks to Vipergal140, for being my first... and only... reviewer thus far. Thank you so much! . Come on people, pleeeease review! I really appreciate the feedback! 


	6. Chapter 6: Empathy

A Thousand Years

Chapter Six: Empathy

Disclaimer: Sigh.

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As I review what I have written thus far in the large leather bound journal in my hands, I realize that I have not put any description into the location my brothers and I stayed in. I deeply apologize. We were very careful to keep our hideout a secret, both in location and in description, for we were vulnerable until we got a better grasp on our strengths and abilities. But because it does not matter now, I will explain.

If you look at a map of Nosgoth, you will see that to the southeast of the Pillars is a lake. To the east of the lake is a large forested area, and further east, a lake that encircles Willendorf city. In that forested area between the two lakes was where Kain and my brethren hid. Kain had worked hard even before our resurrection to secure a place of safety where my brethren and myself could train and grow stronger without much worry.

I earlier described Nosgoth as a wasteland, but that was a different area. A forest cannot be a forest without trees, and there were many. The only difference was that the trees were skeletal, and only few had leaves, clinging desperately to life while everything around them died.

Deep within the forest, Kain set to work building our hideout. The forest was full of cliffs and hills. It was in the side of one of these cliffs that he began to dig. Yes, that's right. Our hideout is almost completely underground. It well suited our needs, for it blocked out the sunlight during the day and protected us from rain and snow. The entrance to the clan was hidden well beneath the massive roots of two ancient trees. The tightly woven appearance of the roots gave the appearance that no one would be able to squeeze through easily. This is where the advantage of vampiric strength came in. All we had to do to enter in was to lift one of the massive roots and duck beneath it to head inside. Kain could brush the roots aside telekinetically with ease, and later, so could we.

Once inside, a large tunnel with a stairway led upwards higher into the cliff. There was a structural advantage here, for if it sloped downwards, rain and the like would be able to flow down and flood the place. Also, if humans tried to invade, we'd have the advantage of being above them. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all dirt and clay, with stone imbedded into the sides to keep them from crumbling or caving in. Sconces lined the walls, giving the tunnel an intimidating feel with the flickering of the candle lights.

At the top of the stairway was a large room that had ten tunnels branching off from it. Seven of them each led to a room, one for Kain and each of my brethren and myself. One of them led upwards by means of a spiraling staircase, leading to the top of the cliff where one could get a perfect view of the land all around. There was no need to fear infiltration from this entrance, for there was simply no way a human could get up the sheer sides of the cliff.

Another tunnel led to the training room, a massive room where Kain had mounted his collection of weapons up on the walls from the warriors he killed. We didn't have to worry about breaking the weapons we practiced with, for Kain always had a large supply in reserve. There were wooden beams that we practiced sword, knife, and axe combinations on, as well as targets for bows and arrows as well as throwing knives. A large cabinet contained medical supplies in case any of us gained severe wounds or happened to maul ourselves badly during practice.

The last tunnel led to a massive room with a large table and seats all around where we would hold meetings and such. Bookcases were imbedded into the walls, and books were stacked within them by the hundreds. Another section of the wall had special square slots for holding scrolls, ink, pens, and the like. We were allowed to decorate our rooms as we chose. Most of the actual furniture we salvaged from the ruins of Vorador's mansion (which, by the way, wasn't fun in the least. The place was crawling with vermin and mold. There wasn't much to salvage).

Kain took what he wanted from the junk, and I was allowed to choose what I wanted next, and so on and so forth down the line. Our rooms didn't consist of much. I had a four-poster bed, with crimson bed sheets and pillowcases along with a black comforter. A black velvet armchair sat in the corner beside a bookcase that I had begun to fill with objects I picked up that I had liked. There was also a dresser that contained my clothes, and in one drawer, my favored weapons. My brothers had much the same sort of thing going on in their rooms, but none of us ever saw Kain's room. We were forbidden from entering it. I believe that concludes the rather lengthy description of our clan area. And now, for your reading pleasure, I shall continue with my story.

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Back at the clan, I parted from Kain as he went back to teaching my brothers how to fight while I went up to my room. As I lay in bed, I wondered how exactly Kain had known to come when he did. It was puzzling, to say the least. I heard a gentle knock on my door and Dumah inquired from outside, "Raziel? May I come in?"

"Of course," I replied, sitting up in bed. Dumah entered, shutting the door behind him. I motioned for him to have a seat on the end of the bed and he obliged, sitting down. "Is there something on your mind?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. Did something happen to you in Willendorf?"

I blinked, tilting my head to the side curiously, "Yes, why do you ask?"

Dumah shrugged. "I was nearing the end of my training session and I couldn't help but notice Kain being a bit... distracted, I believe is the right word. He wasn't much concentrating on what I was doing and rather seemed almost in a world of his own. And suddenly, without warning he snapped his head up and disappeared. And now I see you and Kain returning to the clan as if there wasn't a problem in the world."

Frowning thoughtfully, I told my story to Dumah, who seemed quite interested in what I had to say. Of course I left out the part where I fed on Kain - that would be my little secret unless Kain chose to divulge it. With my legs crossed and my hands on my knees, I watched Dumah and asked him what he made of it.

"Judging from what you told me, I can only come to the conclusion that Kain is empathetic to us, his sons. He can most likely feel what we are feeling, whether it be pain, distress, happiness, whatever it may be, so that if something happens to us, he'll know, and be able to protect us while we are still vulnerable. I do not know if it will last after we are able to look after ourselves or not."

I nodded, for what Dumah said made perfect sense. Kain was distracted while teaching Dumah when I was feeling wary and on guard around Miya, and he became alarmed and teleported to Willendorf when he felt me being knocked out, or perhaps it was when I felt fear running into the guard. But that also meant that he probably knew I had an infatuation with him... Oh dear.

Dumah blinked at me. "Why are you blushing?"

"If he truly is empathetic, he's going to know if we have any special feelings towards someone, isn't he?" I asked Dumah, looking up at him.

Dumah gave me an understanding smile and chuckled. "Most likely. Raziel, you're not the only one crushing after Kain." He chuckled again at my startled look. "All of us, maybe save Melchiah, have feelings for Kain in our own special ways."

"Melchiah needs to pry that sword out of his ass, open his eyes, and see that the world doesn't revolve around him," I snorted contemptuously.

Dumah laughed, nodding in complete agreement. "I'd best be getting some nourishment before the sun rises, then. I think I'll stop by one of the smaller villages rather than go to Willendorf. I would not like a repeat situation for what happened to you." Dumah rose up off the bed and headed for the door. "Good night, Raziel."

I nodded. "Good night, Dumah." As soon as he left, I laid back once again on my bed and stared at the flickering candlelight coming from one of the sconces in my room. It was reassuring to know that I was not the only one by far crushing after Kain, but I couldn't help but wonder what he felt about it. And what about Miya? I wondered if I would ever encounter the witch again, and what would happen if I did. With a sigh, I stretched out and closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep.

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A/N: Sorry for the rather uneventful filler chapter. I'm running into writer's block and trying to figure out where to go with this. Plus I'm working on two stories besides. Blah. . That's my problem. I get an idea, I start to write on it, then I realize that I have no clue where to go with it. If anyone out there has an idea about what I can do with this, I'd really really appreciate it!

Morbid Knight - Thanks for the advice, I tried breaking down the chapters a bit more. Hope it's easier for you to read. I know what you mean about the FFVII section. Blah! (Shudders)

Emerald Embers - Thanks for the positive feedback, I'll try not to let you down!


	7. Chapter 7: Confessions and Humiliation

A Thousand Years

Chapter Seven: Confessions and Humiliation

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

A/N: Good news! I've gotten over my writer's block! At least for the time being. . Blah. My muse returned with a slap in the face to get my ass in gear. Anyway, I've been told by one of my reviewers that Raziel and his brethren have been acting like a bunch of schoolgirls. I hadn't noticed up until that moment and I have to admit that he has a point. I'll try to make them a bit more masculine, but one must also keep in mind that they're young. Also keep in mind that I am a female and I don't know how the male mind works. .;

WARNING! – This chapter is rated NC-17 for sexual content. If you are offended by male/male pairings or sexual content of any kind, PLEASE STOP NOW!

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A few weeks after the incident with Miya, I could take it no longer. I had to tell Kain how I felt about him, even if he probably already knew due to his empathy. It was eating me away inside and I felt I had to tell him or I would burst. But at the same time, I was nervous and scared.

Today Kain was teaching me how to use a bow and arrow. He stood behind me with his arms around my shoulders, showing me how to correctly hold the bow and how to draw back the arrow. I could hardly breathe, my heart was pounding so hard I was sure he must have heard it. There were butterflies in my stomach and I felt faintly dizzy.

"Follow the line of the arrow," Kain murmured lowly in his deeply accented voice. "Now, draw the arrow back. Steady... steady..." He drew back my arm holding the arrow with me, his muscular chest brushing up against my back, his chin over my shoulder. The color crept to my cheeks as I felt his leg brushing against mine, we were so close together. My lips felt dry and I had to lick them to moisten them. "And... release." I let go of the arrow and it sailed toward the target, slamming into the bulls-eye.

Kain nodded in approval. "Just like that. Be careful not to pull back on the string too hard or you'll break it." He stepped back from me.

I lowered the bow. It was now or never. "...Kain?"

"Yes?"

I cleared my throat nervously and looked at him. "I... may seem too forward in saying this, but... I have grown to like you... more than just a father..."

Kain arched his slender black brows. "Saying...?"

I lowered my head. "...I think I'm in love with you..."

"Explain," was Kain's curt response. "What are you experiencing that makes you feel this way?"

This was turning out to be much more difficult than I had imagined. "...I dream about you a lot... It's difficult to concentrate on what you teach me because you are so close to me... Your voice is so pleasing to hear, and you are so beautiful..." I cut off as Kain threw back his head and laughed. My heart dropped in my stomach like a lead weight.

"What you're feeling isn't love, Raziel, it's lust. You have a petty crush on me, that's all it ever was and all it ever will be." He didn't bother to lower his voice, and as luck would have it, Rahab was walking by. He jerked to a halt and listened in obvious mirth, running off to no doubt tell the others about this. I suddenly wanted to curl up into a hole and bury myself deep, where no one could find me. Humiliation and shame burned in my chest. I clenched my fists, staring down at the floor, never having felt so pathetic in my entire life.

Kain sneered at me in disgust. "I advise you to grow up, and quickly. Dismissed."

I put away the bow and arrow, turning to walk out of the training room, heading back to my own room as fast as I could, hoping I would not run into any of my brethren. Once I had reached my chambers, I slipped inside and shut the door, locking it securely. My forehead thumped against the door and I closed my eyes. How could I have been so foolish as to think he would return my feelings or even care in the least? Maybe Kain wasn't homosexual? Or maybe he didn't care for incest? Would it count as incest amongst vampires? I'm his vampiric son, not his natural son. I was left with more questions and more discomfort than I had begun with.

I suddenly felt a presence behind me, and whirled around just as I was slammed up against the door. I struggled beneath the weight pinning me down and my eyes went wide to see Turel glaring at me with his dark eyes. My shock quickly turned to rage. How dare he hide out in my chambers and attack me? "Turel! What the hell are you doing?"

"I have to admit it was brave of you to go to Kain and tell him how you feel, but you'll never get anywhere with him. Kain is as unfeeling and uncaring as a rock. We are his lieutenants, nothing more. What made you think he could possibly care for you?" Turel sneered in my face.

My anger turned to shock once again and confusion. I let it go that he was pinning me up against the door for a moment and thought. "…He saved my life back in the city a few weeks ago."

Turel scoffed. "The only reason he did that is because there is only six of us, and you, unfortunately, are the strongest of the brood. He doesn't want to loose any of his lieutenants before the war has even begun."

I felt a further sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and shoved Turel off of me, leaning back against the door. "Why do you care what I feel for Kain?"

"Why aren't the rest of us good enough for you? What's wrong with us?" Turel growled at me. "Do we not fit your standards? Do we disgust you?"

"…What?" Was he implying that he had feelings for me? But how could that be, when he had been nothing but cold and cruel towards me? My thoughts were interrupted as Turel roughly pinned me against the door and pressed his lips against mine. Shocked and appalled, I kicked him violently in the shin, causing him to let out a muffled curse, staggering back. We glared at each other, and I wiped the back of my hand over my mouth to try to remove the feeling of his lips on mine. Turel's dark eyes smoldered.

"You little prick, answer me. Why aren't any of us good enough for you?" Turel sneered as he straightened up, resisting the urge to clutch at his shin, no doubt.

The first explanation I came up with spilled out of my mouth in a cold tone. "Because none of you are Kain."

"FUCK KAIN!" Turel slammed his fist into his palm. "Fuck that arrogant piece of shit! You've seen how he responds to any kind of affection! Affection is for the weak, love is childish, and so on and so forth! How can you still want him after he humiliated you!"

I heaved a shaky sigh, collecting myself before replying, "I can't help it." It was almost… touching, how Turel was competing for my favor. Turel, of all people. But I'd had enough. I stepped away from the door and stood in front of my bed, gesturing to the door. "Now leave, Turel. What I feel and who I care about is my business, not yours. You'd best remember that."

Turel snarled, "It's not over yet." Instinctively I dropped into a defensive position as Turel lunged at me. I grabbed his outstretched claws and forced them away from me. We grappled with each other, but Turel's foot suddenly snaked out and locked behind my ankle, yanking me off-balance while he shoved forward, sending the two of us crashing down onto the bed. His mouth locked over mine again, working his lips against my mouth, opening his to bite at my bottom lip, and along with the brief flash of pain came the feeling of his wet tongue lapping up the blood. I snarled and struggled beneath him, but he had pinned my wrists to the sides, his knees forcing my legs to be still.

My heart was pounding, frantically pumping adrenaline through my body. I was furious. The sharing of blood between vampires is a very intimate thing, and I hated how he thought he could have this liberty with me. Swiftly I snapped at him, grabbing his lip in my teeth and tearing it. He snarled and kissed me roughly again, trying to force his tongue into my mouth. His loins pressed against my abdomen, and I could feel through the leather pants that he was very hard. If the bastard had any intention of raping me, he'd have a difficult time doing it. I clamped down on his tongue with all my might, sharp fangs and teeth puncturing through the slippery, wet muscle. He jerked his head back with a scream and let go of one wrist to punch me in the gut. Pain exploded in my stomach and I gasped, blood staining my mouth, trying to curl up in a fetal position to protect my stomach from further harm, but he still had my legs and arm pinned.

Turel swallowed the blood that was pooling in his mouth, his dark eyes enraged. He took hold of my pants and ripped them off of me with his claws, swiftly crawling out of his own. I was stunned, and couldn't bring myself to move yet. All I could do was watch with a dawning horror as Turel's gaze hungrily traveled over my body, lingering in part on my loins. I'm sure the bastard derived some sick pleasure in noticing how much larger he was than me. I wasn't small by any means, but I was not so absurdly hung as him. By the Gods, I could hardly believe he was even bigger when aroused. I had to do something, quickly, or I would be in for a world of pain.

I struggled to move, but he grabbed me roughly and turned me over, pinning me down on my face. My breath was suddenly coming in harsh gasps as I thrashed, clawing at the bed sheets and trying to escape, but he had me pinned again. His long, hard shaft rubbed against my buttocks, and my struggles increased tenfold. My first experience would NOT be with this egotistical bastard! I refused to allow it!

The head of his penis pressed against my entrance, and instinctively I clenched those muscles as hard as I could. A scream was building in my throat, but I stubbornly choked it down. I'd been humiliated once today. I could handle this myself! I didn't need the aid of anyone else!

Turel growled in frustration at my resistance and reached down, sliding a finger in through my entrance. I bit back a gasp and writhed beneath him, my arms pinned above my head by his other hand, legs still pinned by his own. He began rubbing within and around my entrance, and my breath caught in my throat at the feeling he ignited. For a moment, I relaxed, and in that moment he withdrew his finger and placed his shaft at my entrance, forcing his manhood inside of me with deep, powerful thrusts.

I felt something tear inside of me, and I screamed, my voice muffled into the bed sheets beneath me. Pain tore through me, throbbing with each hard thrust that forced Turel's organ deeper inside of me. Struggling was useless now. He had me, and any movement on my part would only enhance his pleasure. My fingers curled around the bed sheets and I clenched them tightly, gasping, my eyes tightly closed.

My breath caught in my throat mid-gasp, and I let out a startled noise as his penis hit a spot inside of me that sent hot, aching pleasure through my body. Upon hearing my noise, Turel's thrusts increased in pace, driving himself over that same spot over and over again. My eyes clenched tightly shut as pleasure and pain mingled, my blood running hot with the combined sensations. Turel leaned over me, his broad chest pressed against my bare back, his breath hot against my neck while he moved above me, our bodies rocking on the bed. His hand slipped down beneath and touched my own hardened shaft, stroking and curling his fingers around it, rubbing it up and down. Out of my mouth came a little mewling noise that startled me when I recognized it as my own voice. Apparently my body and mind had forgotten that he was RAPING me, forcing himself on me against my will.

But… Gods, it felt so good.

He suddenly developed a feverish pace, pumping my shaft in time with his thrusts, his breath heavy and hot on the back of my neck. I writhed beneath him and moaned, my entire body on fire with this throbbing, aching sensation. Pleasure and pain became one, and I was lost to it.

Both of us jumped and froze in shock as the door slammed off its hinges and crashed to the floor, lock and all.

Kain strode into the room like a raging storm, silver-blue eyes blazing furiously. He never hesitated as he walked over and grabbed Turel, yanking him off of me and throwing him to the floor. I gasped as his manhood left my body, his touch leaving me unfinished and aching, slowly sinking back down again, wondering what Kain was doing. My eyes widened as I saw Turel's erect shaft coated in blood… MY blood.

Turel hissed up at Kain as he advanced on him, but the hiss was abruptly cut off as Kain's fist slammed into his diaphragm, stunning him so that he couldn't breathe. His mouth opened and gaped like a fish's, trying to inhale, but unable to make his stunned diaphragm perform. Kain hauled him up by the neck and clenched his fist around Turel's shaft, his claws digging into the swollen flesh. Turel's eyes flew open and he thrashed, mouth open in a silent scream.

I could only watch in stunned silence as Kain hissed in Turel's face, "Give me one good reason I shouldn't rip off your cock and shove it down your throat!" Turel's eyes widened in an almost comical terror. He shook his head swiftly from side to side, silently pleading. Kain spat in his face, sneering, "Insufferable fool! I will not allow such behavior in my lieutenants! Take your insecurities and work to make them secure, or get the hell out of here! And if you EVER attempt to rape any of your brothers again, I will tie you down and drip water over your manhood until it melts into nothingness!"

Seemingly satisfied at the stark terror on Turel's face, and his currently VERY unhappy state, he whirled and threw Turel out of the room, picking up his pants and throwing them out after him. "Get out of my sight!" he hissed, and Turel scrambled to comply, limping down the hall, gasping hoarsely for breath.

Kain turned, and our eyes met. His intense Husky eyes bore into mine, and I had to look down. Even now he was beautiful to me.

The bed sank down under an additional weight, and I lifted my eyes in surprise at seeing Kain sitting on the bed behind me. I self-consciously tried to move to slip under the blankets, but he gripped one of my ankles and growled softly. "Hold still." I froze.

He moved behind me and I felt his hand on my backside. A shudder traveled through my body and I looked back at him again, embarrassment and humiliation causing my face to turn red to the tips of my ears as he examined my backside. I looked away and buried my face in my arms. It was easier if I didn't have to look at him. "….What… are you doing?" I asked hesitantly.

"Checking the damage," Kain replied curtly. "And there's a lot. You're bleeding all over."

Oh. "…How bad is it?"

"You'll live. That bastard was far too big to safely take you without preparation. Although I'm sure your safety wasn't his number one priority." He examined the ripped pants, tossing them aside to throw out later. "It didn't help that you have a tight little ass."

I didn't think my face could have gotten any redder. I was wrong.

He watched me intently, and slowly arched a brow. "You're taking it quite well."

"Would you rather I put up a fuss?" I retorted, a little snippily.

Both brows arched now. "Testy, aren't we?" He leaned around to get a better look at my face. "Or just embarrassed." He sighed. "So how did it happen? You're stronger than him, Raziel. Not by much, but enough. You should have been able to stop him."

I didn't respond for several long moments, but when I did, it was with another question, "What took you so long?"

He frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Dumah and I surmised you must have some empathy to your sons, so that you can feel when they are in trouble, and be able to protect them. So why didn't you come for me right away?" My chin rested on my folded arms while I watched him. My arousal had finally begun to settle, the ache diminishing somewhat in my loins.

Kain looked mildly surprised and approving that we had figured it out. "I was out saving Zephon's backside from vampire hunters. His life was in more danger than yours was."

"Ah," I replied.

"Also, I hoped that you would mature somewhat after getting raped."

"…." My eyes narrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

Kain was unfazed by my anger. "It is commonly known that rape is a loss of innocence, and the victim of such grows up faster. The six of you still act like children, and I have no patience for children. With any luck, you will mature, and stop seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses, as youth commonly does." He rose up from the bed while I frowned. "You will learn soon enough that the world is a very cruel place. Everyone is selfish. They think only of themselves, and never of anyone else."

"You're not," I replied without thinking. "You raised me and my brethren as vampires and gave us a new life. You've taken care of us and taught us so much. That doesn't seem selfish to me."

"I don't do it out of the goodness of my heart, Raziel. I do it out of necessity. You and your brothers are pawns to help me reach my goal. If we are put in a position where I have to forfeit my own life to save yours, I won't do it. I look out for myself first, and everyone else last. It's a dog eat dog world, and only the strongest survive. Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten."

"You're being brutally honest," I muttered wryly.

"That is one thing you can count on from me." Kain stared me straight in the eye. "I will never lie to you. I've been lied to far too often, and I hate it." He walked to the door and picked it up, setting it back in the door, connecting the hinges again. "You are exempt from archery practice tomorrow. With the damage you've taken, you're going to be limping for the next twenty-four hours." He then opened the door and left without so much as a goodbye, closing it behind him.

I listened to his footsteps retreat down the hall and sighed, muttering sarcastically, "Oh, the joys of father-son bonding." Physically and mentally exhausted, it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8: The Meaning of Maturity

A Thousand Years

Chapter Eight: The Meaning of Maturity.

Disclaimer: Raziel's MY bitch! ... >.> ... Maybe not. >.O;;

A/N: Thanks for all the positive reviews! I'm glad everyone approves of the way I'm portraying Kain and the boys. After this chapter, I'll be doing a little time jump. A thousand years is just a tad bit too long to play it day by day.

* * *

Several days passed, each day laced thick with tension on the air. Of course, by this time everyone knew of my confession to Kain, his response, and my humiliation by Turel's hands. Dumah and Zephon tried to be supportive. Rahab and Melchiah were torn between patting Turel on the back and knocking some sense into him. The six brothers were equally split into opposing sides, and one side could not confront the other without hostility involved. 

It was inevitable that I run into Turel himself. He was heading for the training area as soon as I had finished. We stopped at the exact same moment. He stared at me. I stared right back at him. I could feel my grim expression slipping from my face, any emotion in my eyes leeched away, until my features were as empty as I felt. Faintly, I was aware of Kain standing in the doorway of the training room, watching us. I kept walking, and Turel turned his head to watch me. I never looked back.

That is how it was any time I came across Turel. Sometimes he would try to get my attention, sneering or smirking at me depending on the mood he was in. I would ignore him and continue on with an empty feeling in my chest. At one time, this occurred in front of Dumah and Zephon. Out of my peripheral vision I saw them exchange glances. They were worried. Why?

It came as no surprise when Dumah stopped by my room one night and asked to speak with me. He sat down beside me on the bed as I sharpened the blade of one of my knives, watching me. "Raziel, I'm concerned."

I glanced up at him and voiced the one word question on my mind. "Why?"

He sighed softly. "You are not yourself."

I set aside the blade and the whittling stone I was using to sharpen it, watching him, waiting for him to clarify himself.

Dumah looked around the room, examining the few possessions I had on my shelf. "You are not so expressive as you once were… You're just… empty of all emotions. It's not like you."

"Perhaps I've grown up," I replied simply.

My brother shook his head. "No. You haven't 'grown up'. You've died." He returned his gaze to me while one of my brows arched upward. "You were once so full of life… so appreciative of everything around you. You found joy in the simplest things. You were eager to please, but at the same time, swift to take charge. It's what we loved about you. Now all that is left is a beautiful, empty shell." He sighed again and muttered, "Even Kain shows more emotion than you do now."

"It is what Kain wanted of me," I replied, staring into Dumah's deep blue eyes. "That's why he didn't hasten to save me. He wanted me to loose that carefree innocence I once possessed."

The backhanded slap was swift and unexpected, snapping my head to the side. With it came a surge of anger. Was I to be everyone's personal punching bag?

Dumah hissed at me with an anger I'd never seen on him before. "He wants us to mature, but he would not want us to loose all sense of ourselves! You mistake the difference between maturity and immaturity! Emotions of any sort do not determine whether or not you are mature. Nor does a general love for life. It is what makes you the way you are. You cannot deny yourself your true nature!"

I couldn't help it. I began to laugh. It was a very deep and chilling laugh that did not sound like me at all, and it stunned Dumah into silence. "You don't know Kain very well, do you?" My little brother stared at me with questioning eyes, obviously disturbed by my actions. "We are his pawns. He doesn't care for us. He doesn't care how we feel. He wouldn't give a rat's ass if we lost all sense of ourselves and became his mindless puppets. In fact, he'd probably prefer it that way. As long as we stay alive and fight his war against mankind to an extent that he approves of, nothing else matters to him."

"I don't believe that's entirely true, Raziel," Dumah replied softly. "Kain doesn't seem entirely cold-hearted." He ignored the short, barking laugh I let loose and continued, "He seems like a person who has lost a lot and has known little of kindness in his life, and therefore, has lost his ability to trust. Something or some things in his past have jaded him, and he has learned that the only person he can trust in is himself. Putting trust in anyone else is like opening the door for heartbreak once again."

"Heartbreak?" I repeated incredulously. "Kain is heartless. What little heart he has is a black, withered, frozen, dead thing in his chest."

"That is precisely why we should ask ourselves, 'Why is it that way? What has happened to him to make him close off his heart to anyone else?'" Dumah urged me intently.

"Why should it matter?" I countered, sitting forward. "What good will it do if we ever find out what makes Kain the way he is? We can't change him. All we would be able to do is pity him, and he would kill us if we showed a scrap of pity toward him."

Defeated, Dumah sat back, raking his taloned fingers through his dark brown hair. "I came in here to discuss you, not Kain. Look, Raziel, please, just listen to me. You speak of Kain's supposedly black and withered heart contemptuously… yet you fail to see that if you continue acting the way you are, your heart will become as black and withered as his. Do you truly want that? Do you want to be just like Kain, knowing how he humiliated you and hurt you?"

"No," I replied quietly, slowly lowering my eyes to the bed.

"Do you want to be unhappy for the rest of your very long life?"

"No," I replied again.

Dumah's hand cupped my cheek, lifting my gaze back up to his. "The true meaning of maturity," he murmured, his musical voice soft and pleasing to the ear, "is not that you stop being happy. Being mature does not mean that you cast aside all emotions and become cold and empty. Maturity is achieved when you can look at yourself and acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses, as well as all of the things that make up who you are."

I let his words soak in, closing my eyes, feeling his cool palm against my face. We were both quiet for several long moments before I finally found my voice. "Where do you get your wisdom from, and where can I get some?"

Dumah laughed softly, resting his forehead against mine and running his fingers through my hair. "There's the Raziel we all know and love." He smirked and tapped the tip of my nose. "Where I get my wisdom from is my little secret. If I let you know, then everyone will want to know where to get some, and I won't be so wise anymore because soon everyone will be as wise as me."

"Haven't you heard of 'share the love'?" I smirked, playfully nipping at the finger that tapped my nose.

He swiftly pulled back his finger and grinned, "No, I can't say I have." Dumah pulled back and slipped off the bed, heading for the door. "Now, if I see you moping around anymore, I'm going to have to slap you again."

"Speaking of which," I growled playfully, grabbing my pillow and chucking it at his head. He laughed and shielded his head with his arms as he fled my room. I lay back upon my bed, arms folded behind my head, a smirk upon my lips. "Revenge is sweet."

A/N – Whoa. Didn't think I'd get another chapter out this soon. Dumah and Raziel are so cuuute. Hope you all enjoy! Next chapter will be taking place fifty years later.

Raziel: Whatever happened to that one witch chick?

ShadowWolf: Miya? She'll make an appearance later on.

Raziel: How much later?

ShadowWolf: …Good question. Or I might just dump her out of the story. I suck at original characters.

Raziel: No, you just suck at spur-of-the-moment original characters when you have no idea what else to write.

ShadowWolf: ….Thanks. e.e;

Raziel: Anytime.

Dumah: Are you going to pair Raziel and me together?

ShadowWolf: Maybe. Probably not.

Dumah: Raziel and Zephon?

ShadowWolf: (Shrugs)

Dumah: Raziel and Kain?

ShadowWolf: (Points out) That obviously ain't happening.

Dumah: Raziel and Turel?

Raziel: HELL NO!

Turel: O.O (Sniffle)

ShadowWolf: (Blinks at Dumah) What's with the Raziel pairings?

Dumah: I like a good romance fanfic.

ShadowWolf: Me too, but not in this fanfic. Not yet, anyway. I have plans, Dumah, trust me!

Dumah: o.o; ….Raziel and Melchiah?

Raziel: EEEEEEEWWWWWWW! (Grabs duct tape and slaps some over Dumah's mouth)

Zephon: Raziel and MOEBIUS!

Raziel: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (Claws at his head to get the mental images out of his mind)

ShadowWolf: That… is so wrong. O.o;

Zephon: Bwahahaha. Or maybe... the Elder God?

Elder God: Lick my tentacle.

Raziel: o.o (Turns and walks over to the wall, hitting his head against it repeatedly) .

ShadowWolf: …I'm going to have nightmares about this.

Elder God: (Thrusts a tentacle in front of Turel) Lick my tentacle.

Turel: >.O (Bites it)

Elder God: OHH YESSS! (Squirts out a huge cloud of ink)

Turel: O.O;

ShadowWolf: (Hits her head hard on the desk and waves away anyone who still might be reading this) Off with you, before my corrupt and perverse mind spreads to yours. Oh, but would you please review on your way out? Many thanks.


	9. Chapter 9: Raziel's Inferno

A Thousand Years

Chapter Nine: Raziel's Inferno

Disclaimer: See previous chapters. e.e;; You get the bloody hint.

* * *

It's been ten years now. Ten long, long... for the most part uneventful years. But the time had finally come when my brothers and I were expected to prove ourselves in battle against staggering odds, putting all of our years of practice and expertise to good use.

We were going to war.

To say we were nervous would be to say paperclips squirted with lemon juice hurts. To put it bluntly, we were scared shitless. But of course we never showed it. We all had to be big tough he-men, or we would immediately be jumped upon by our siblings, taunted for being weak and cowardly.

"What's the name of the town?" Dumah asked Kain as we walked through the forest. The night was young, and we were well fed. Each of us were armed to the teeth, dressed in battle armor, adrenaline coursing through our veins.

"Uschtenheim," Kain replied, leading the group.

"Gesundheit," I commented without thinking. There was a smattering of snickers from my brothers, and Kain rolled his eyes.

"No, that's the name of the town," he replied in exaspiration. He had the Soul Reaver across his back, dressed in his own battle armor. The sword was his only weapon, for he needed no other. The moonlight shone down on his ivory hair and alabaster skin. His eyes were silver in the darkness, gleaming like a wolf's when the light hit them just right. He was beautiful, as always, and even though I still admired him, I had dismissed any possibility of a relationship. He simply would not allow it. He knew damn well how vulnerable we still were, and the battles we would be expected to go through. He half expected some of us to die. He would not open his heart when the prospect of loss still hung over him like a shadow.

"It will be difficult," Dumah commented. "Uschtenheim is nestled up against the mountains. There are passageways and hidden crevaces in the mountains that the humans can retreat into and ambush us when we pursue them." His main weapon of choice was a sword, like mine. There was no outward sign of his nervousness. He was cool and confident, as always.

"That is why we must move quickly to surround the town. There is a main entrance and a main exit that leads up into the mountains. I know where the rear exit is, so I will take Turel and Melchiah with me. Raziel, you will lead Dumah, Rahab, and Zephon in the frontal attack." Kain never looked back as he moved with liquid grace through the dark forest, sight penetrating the darkness as easily as any cat's. "If you find yourselves surrounded, move back to back to each other and fight outward. Don't let any of your enemies get behind you. And for heaven's sake, don't forget to feed as often as you can. Gorge yourselves on blood, for it will be what will save you tonight. Any wasted meal can mean the difference between life and death. Use the telekinetic way of drinking blood so you can move and feed at the same time."

Silence settled in on us as we glided through the Termagent forest, nearing our destination. I could hear my brothers' hearts pounding with anticipation, their shortened, excited breaths as we could see the mountains rising up from the trees. This is what we had been reborn for. This was our purpose for existing. We were here to rule these lands that rightfully belonged to the vampires. We were the top of the food chain, so it was only right that we would rule over the humans.

Finally, Kain slowed his pace, and turned to us. "This is it," he murmured, his eyes scanning over his lieutenants. "There are two guards at the front gate. I will go in with Turel and Melchiah, and we will kill them and raise the gate. Raziel, you and your group follow, but remain hidden just inside the gate. We will move to the back entrance and kill the guards stationed there without being seen by the rest of the townspeople." He pinned his gaze on Turel and Melchiah. "That means that we have to be utterly silent." He turned his gaze back to the rest of us. "I will contact you telepathically to tell you when to begin your attack. At the same time we will begin ours. Watch each other's backs, and fight to the best of your ability. Remember your training. Now let's go."

With that, he turned and silently ran toward the gate, Turel and Melchiah following. Kain gestured Turel and Melchiah to the lower area while he leapt up to the top, grabbing the guard before he could make a sound and sinking his fangs into his throat, draining him of blood and breath. I heard the guard down below give a startled gasp, and heard the wet crunch of a battle axe slamming into flesh and bone. I moved forward with the rest of my brothers as Melchiah fed from the guard Turel had killed, and watched as Kain pulled a lever from the upper level to open the gate below. He leapt down and motioned for Turel and Melchiah to follow, slinking out of the gate and glancing around, before swiftly climbing up to the rooftop of a building, stealthily and silently making his way across the town, Turel and Melchiah on his tail.

I stayed at the gate, glancing around. There was a moment of tension when a guard came into sight. I ducked back into the gate tower until he passed, letting out my breath only after he was gone. Nervous, me? Naawww.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, I heard Kain's voice in my head. Now is the time, Raziel.

Alright. Taking a deep breath, I motioned to my brothers, and swiftly moved through the gate. The battle began almost easily, as we swiftly killed the guards we encountered before they even knew what was upon them. But all too soon, the alarm bell began to ring in the small town, and guards and villagers poured out of the buildings to do battle with us. It was terrifying and exhilirating as I fought with my brothers, my sword slicing through my enemies like a hot knife through butter. Their intense, adrenaline-pumped blood in my mouth was ecstacy. But all too soon, that exhilaration turned to fear as I was cut off from my brothers and surrounded.

Everything seemed to slow down, my mind numbing to all rational thought as I relied solely on instinct. I could do nothing but defend myself, whirling to block the thrust of a pitchfork, throwing it off and turning to block the downward arc of a battle axe, spinning to avoid the slice of a sword, ducking to avoid the jab of a spear. My heart pounded in my throat as this continued for what seemed like hours, but was probably little more than a minute.

Pain suddenly slammed into my side as I was unable to avoid two attacks at the same moment. There was a gut-wrenching feeling of shock and displacement as I felt the battle axe being torn from my side, and I fell to one knee on the ground. Distantly, I thought I heard a voice call my name as I looked up with wide eyes to see the battle axe soaked with my blood rising up to deliver a finishing blow.

Warmth flooded through me at that moment, bubbling up from somewhere deep within me, spreading throughout my body. My breath caught as I felt strength flooding through me, closing my eyes tightly as it seemed this fire in my veins would burst out of me and set everything around me aflame. Tortured screams suddenly filled my ears as the fire died down. I cracked one eye open, swiftly following it with the other as I saw the soldiers around me had burst into flames and were running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

..._What the hell?_

I climbed to my feet slowly, one hand over the gaping wound in my side, staring in shock along with my brothers and the remaining humans, morbidly fascinated by the humans that were shrieking and running into things in their frenzy. One fortunate soul tripped over the low wall of the fountain and fell face-first into the water, steam billowing up as the fire was extinguished. But the others, one by one, dropped to the ground and died.

Zephon suddenly realized his advantage and quickly cut down the shocked, distracted humans in front of him, and their pained cries snapped everyone else out of their daze to return to battling. But I retreated from the scene, one hand over my heavily bleeding side, back to the masses of bodies we'd left in our wake. I found several corpses that had not yet been drained of their blood, and quickly downed the precious crimson elixir, feeling the wound in my side rapidly mending itself and my strength returning. After the pain had subsided, I ran to rejoin the battle. I could ponder what exactly had happened at a later time. Right now, I had a battle to finish.

* * *

Kain surveyed the city with a satisfied smirk on his face, the blood-stained Soul Reaver perched with the tip in the ground before him, his hands folded atop the hilt. All that was left of the city's inhabitants were the women that had not fought, along with the elderly and the children. They stayed in their homes, too terrified to venture out.

All of us had suffered wounds, and all of us had gorged ourselves until the wounds had completely disappeared. We stood behind Kain and surveyed our conquest with pride and relief. But I was the first to break the silence. I stepped up to Kain's right side and looked up at him. "Kain, something happened to me during the fight. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I was cut down, and I suddenly felt this warmth flooding through my body and bursting outwards. When I opened my eyes, all the humans that had been around me were in flames, running around and screaming."

All eyes were on me now as Kain turned to regard me with mild surprise. "You've discovered a Dark Gift."

"..What? But I thought you could only get Dark Gifts through metamorphosis," I objected hesitantly.

"That is usually the way," Kain admitted, "But there are times when a vampire's life is in danger, that their body will desperately employ whatever means it can of saving itself. In some cases, birthing a Dark Gift. You have fed from me a handfull of times over the past ten years, so my blood probably contributed to your gift." He looked to my brothers. "Dumah, what did you see when Raziel's Gift emerged?"

"His entire body began to glow as if engulfed by fire," Dumah recalled, his eyes wide at the memory. "The fire around him pulsed, and suddenly burst forward from his body in all directions for about ten feet, setting every human in that circle afire."

"It was so kick-ass!" Zephon chimed in, grinning with equally wide eyes. "They all started running around waving their arms and screaming bloody murder, tripping over and running into things until they dropped down dead!"

"And what was REALLY interesting was when they'd run into their fellow humans and set them on fire as well!" Rahab laughed, ignoring the filthy look Turel and Melchiah gave him for speaking up on my behalf.

Kain looked back at me. "So, Raziel, what are you going to call it?"

"What, my Gift...? Well..." I paused, considering this. "...How about 'Inferno'?"

My sire lifted a single brow in approval. "A place or condition suggestive of Hell, especially with respect to human suffering or death. Very appropriate." He looked toward the slowly lightening sky to the East and turned back to us. "You've all done well. Come, let's head home."

I went to my chambers with a light heart and a smile upon my lips as I hung up my armor and my sword, crawling into the warmth of my bed and beginning to drift off to sleep. Today had been a good day.

Kain was right. Victory tasted very sweet.

* * *

A/N: I am SO SORRY;

Thank you so much for your forceful reviews, they helped me get up off my lazy butt to get back to work on this. I wrote this all in one night. I struggled with it at first, but as it went on, it got easier and easier to write. Keep the reviews coming, you have no idea how much they help!

P.S.: I looked back on the other chapters in the past and noticed that had scrunched all my paragraphs together. Sorry about that! Another note, when Kain was teaching Raziel about the thoughtspeech, they did actually have text that you could read... But it was inside the arrow key thingies and for some reason, just... disappeared. So I'm re-uploading that chapter with what I _think_ they said.. I can't quite remember, it's been too long. Check it out if you like.


	10. Chapter 10: Drunks and Disappearances

A Thousand Years

Chapter Ten: Drunks and Disappearances

As I awoke the following evening and exited my room, it was to find the rest of my small clan in very good spirits. Even Turel and Melchiah got along with everyone, laughing and talking animatedly. We sparred with one another, honing our skills and teasing each other, tossing insults and jeers with lighthearted playfulness. Around midnight, we departed in two seperate groups to go hunting. Turel led Rahab and Melchiah while Dumah and Zephon went with me. We always hunted in seperate villages.

Zephon shushed us as we traveled over the rooftops, and pointed to the local tavern. "I believe we owe ourselves a bit of a treat."

Dumah and I glanced at each other, before blinking at Zephon in confusion. "...Zephon" Dumah spoke up"we're vampires... We can't consume alcohol."

"WE can't, technically" Zephon replied with a grin"but THEY can." He motioned to a drunken man staggering out of the bar. "Come on, you guys can't tell me that in ten years neither of you have fed off of a drunk. You can get drunk too from the alcohol in their blood"

"You mean to say you ENJOY feeding from drunkards and getting in the same state as them" I asked, appalled. Surely getting drunk would be dangerous, for with one's mind clouded, how could one fight effectively?

"You only get drunk if you feed off of several drunks. I've tested it. There are roughly, what, two pints of blood in the human body? Depending on the alcohol level in the blood, you can feed on up to two drunks without getting wasted. Three or more is asking for trouble, but one doesn't need to feed from more than one human a night anyway." Zephon shrugged and grinned. "Think of it this way, it's a really nice way to relieve stress when your arm gets tired from whacking off."

Dumah's jaw dropped, and I don't think I could have blushed any harder. I wasn't new to masturbating by any means... None of us were... It was a common thing. But it's one thing to do it and entirely another to chat about it... And about one's arm getting tired of 'whacking', plainly stating just how much he... Aah! I didn't need that kind of mental image!

Zephon was having a great time laughing at us, his eyes tearing up as he sat back, clutching his stomach. Ever the clown, was Zephon. Finally, he got over his mirth as we got over our shock and embarrassment, to go down from the rooftops and feed on a trio of drunks happily staggering out into the night.

It's one thing to feed off of the adrenaline-pumped blood of a powerful warrior.

It's quite another to feed off of the alcohol-laced blood of a drunk.

While the former is exciting and energy-filled, healing wounds and strengthening the body, the latter is extremely calming, and very sweet. I felt a purr rumbling up from my throat, eyes half-lidded in pleasure as I finished off the drunk and set his body down. Zephon was amused at my antics. "Purring like a kitten with cream. I told you it was a treat."

"Oh, my" Dumah mused contentedly as he finished off his meal. "...I do believe I like that -very- much..."

"Good grief" Zephon snickered. "Raziel's the kitten with the cream and Dumah's having a joygasm."

Dumah coughed as I burst into helpless snickers, trying to contain my mirth as the three of us began to head back to the clan.

But all was not well, as we found out later that night. Rahab and Turel had returned home with Melchiah nowhere to be found. At Kain's demand, Turel offandedly replied that he and Melchiah had gotten into an argument and Melchiah had stormed off on his own. Things calmed down, until dawn began to approach, and there was still no sign of Melchiah.

Kain paced nervously, growling under his breath. He moved up to the cliff overlooking the forest and gazed around tensely, but there was still no sign of him. With fifteen minutes to go, Kain finally took off toward the village that Turel and Rahab had visited, with the rest of us waiting tensely. Melchiah was an annoying little shit, but he was still our brother, and he was still important to our cause.

Dawn came, and the five of us lingered in the shadows with baited breath. The hours began to pass, and one by one we began to drop off to sleep right there in the hallway. Rahab and Zephon sat against the wall learning on each other, Dumah leaning against the wall with his arms folded and his head nodding with weariness. Turel and I were the only ones actively awake. I was lingering close to the entrance, just before the beams of light filtering down through the roots of the trees... It stung my eyes just to look at the light, but it was tolerable. Turel was pacing further up the tunnel.

Finally, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. I recognized the sound of Kain's long, graceful stride... But I heard no second pair of footsteps. Turel had stopped pacing, and Dumah had snapped back into awareness.

Kain walked in, looking frustrated as he shoved a root out of the way.

"You couldn't find him.." I ventured hesitantly, hoping this was the case...

"Or did the little fool go and get himself fried" Turel growled lowly.

Kain shook his head. "I couldn't find him. I figure he spent too much time out and had to find some dark, secluded place to stay the day. That is the best case scenario. Worst case, he was killed, captured by vampire hunters, or caught out in the sunlight somewhere... If the last were true, there would be a large burn mark somewhere, but I looked all over the village and the land and villages around it. I couldn't find a trace of him." He roughly pulled Zephon and Rahab to their feet, waking them and giving them a gentle shove toward their room, where they obediently and dazedly staggered.

"...So what will we do" I asked.

He sighed heavily. "We wait for sundown."

A/N: CLIFFHANGER! XD I'm a cruel bitch, but it will give me a push to write more, because I despise cliffhangers and people that write cliffhangers and never update the story. ...Heck, I don't like it when anyone doesn't regularly update a story, and yet I do it myself. Hypocritical much? .;; But I really am sorry for that, and I'll keep writing for as long as I can.

It was really hard writing that fun scene between Raziel, Dumah, and Zephon, because they're in such a good mood, and I'm horribly depressed. The past couple of weeks, nothing has gone right... Crazy people at work, a screaming fight with my mom (and I've never had one of those before), her threatening to give my dogs away to the ASPCA because I didn't have time before work to let them out to potty or I'd be late and she's too lazy to do it herself, my girlfriend's computer spazzing out and breaking down on her so I can't talk to her (online relationships are so hard...), college homework, spending too much and going in the hole on my checking account (three times by the time I got the notice, which adds up to a 75 charge...), one of my dogs running away this morning and leading me around in a merry chase down the block and around houses in frigid, frosty North Dakota weather at six thirty in the morning in my nightgown, and my girlfriend considering not going back on the computer even when it gets fixed since she spends too much time on it anyway (and we don't communicate in any other way) ...

Sorry about that.

Also, just another side note about the alcohol thingy... If anyone is offended by them getting drunk, please don't rant or rave to me. Personally, I despise alcohol and drunks too. I've never touched a drop, and I never will. But it makes for silliness and story material.

Anyway, I'll update again soon!


	11. Chapter 11: Strange Relationship

A Thousand Years

Chapter Ten: Strange Relationship

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

A/N: ...Holy crap.

(Flashback, Febuary 1st, 2005)

ShadowWolf: (Rubs paddles together and places them on the fanfic) CLEAR!

BZZZZZT THUMP!

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee beep... beep... beep... beep..._

Raziel: It's... It's ALIVE!

_Beep... beep... beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep!_

Everyone: o.O;;

Fanfic: (Suddenly bolts upright)

Zephon: TAKE COVER! (Dives for the floor, others following suit)

Melchiah: Huh?

Fanfic: (ZOOMS off the table and SLAMS into Melchiah like a bowling ball, sending him flying into the air head over heels, blazing on past spitting out two chapters in rapid succession... a third following with slight difficulty)

ShadowWolf: ...Holy Hell! O.o;; How many volts were those paddles charged with!

Raziel: (Peeks up his head over the operating table) Who cares, it's still alive, isn't it!

Kain: For now... Who knows how long this will last.

ShadowWolf: (Rolls eyes) Thanks for the vote of support, Candy-Kain.

Raziel and the brothers: (Sssnneeerrrk)

Kain: ...Don't call me that.

(End Flashback)

* * *

Sunset came, and with it, our swift departure into the night.

Decked out in full battle armor, armed to the teeth (No pun intended, really!), we set out for the village of Zirgsturb. Upon our arrival we split into groups of two. I was with Dumah, Kain was with Zephon, and Turel with Rahab. Through the city we swiftly and silently searched for our missing brother. Between the six of us, we would leave no stone unturned, and no building un-checked. We were each given our designated areas to search, and set off. Our search would encompass even the entire forest surrounding the town.

Dumah and I fed from a pair of homeless wretches as we searched, to keep our strength up should he turn out to be in trouble. We barely spoke to each other, not needing to speak to know what the other was thinking. We had to find Melchiah, fast. Even if he is the weakest of the brood, even if he is a horrible little wretch, he is our brother, and he is important to our cause.

The hours ticked by with no success. The only bit of excitement came from Turel, who was beaned upside the head with a wash pan when checking in the window of a building where a woman was undressing. This was reported by Rahab. The vision it brought made me laugh out loud, despite the seriousness of our situation.

By the time 4 A.M. came around, we were all but ready to give up. Dumah and I were searching the last farms on the outskirts of the village when a terrified shriek caught our attention. We looked at each other before dashing off towards the stables where a teenage girl suddenly bolted out and ran towards the house, shrieking something about there being a man in the stables. Dumah and I looked at each other, lifting our brows hopefully. It _could_ be him, but what would he be doing in a stable?

We both slipped inside swiftly, glancing in the stalls. The horses whickered and shuffled their feet, the cows lowing nervously. Finally, I came upon one of the last stalls...

And gaped in horrified and amused shock to find Melchiah snuggled up against the rump of a very contented cow, his pants around his ankles.

_HOLY HELL!_

"Raziel? Did you find something?" Dumah asked, walking up beside me and looking in. He jerked to an abrupt halt and gaped as well, eyes widening, the corner of one of them twitching. "...Oh God!"

"Uuh... Don't.. yell..." Melchiah mumbled, clutching at his head painfully.

...Kain! Everyone, we found him! I managed to call out, turning away from the scene before I would throw up.

What? Where is he? Kain demanded, alarmed at the tone of my voice.

I-In one of the farmhouses... The one with the hay bales stacked against the south side of the barn...

What's happened? Is he dead? Kain and the rest of the group immediately began to head in my direction.

N-No, he's... Uh... I... think he's drunk... Or hungover... At that moment, the laughter suddenly settled in, and I dissolved into them helplessly. H-he's curled up next to a cow with his pants around his ankles!

WHAT! Kain.

Eeewwww... Turel.

...That is just NASTY! Rahab.

AHAHAHAHAHAAA! Zephon.

Within moments, all of us were there, laughing fit to burst and teasing the hungover Melchiah, who quickly realized his situation and started screaming and yanking up his pants.

All of us except Kain.

All too soon our laughter died down as one by one we realized Kain's presence behind us, simmering with rage.

Melchiah slowly climbed to his feet, eyes wide, staring at somewhere around Kain's chest since he was unable to look into those blazing ice blue eyes. He was suddenly yanked straight off his feet and held up in front of Kain's face, yelping and cringing at the murderous look in his eyes.

Kain hissed lowly, "How many drunks did you feed from last night?" At Melchiah's muffled whimper, Kain shook him roughly and snarled, lips pulled back from his long white fangs, "How many!"

"S-six?" Melchiah squeaked hesitantly.

"You bloody fool," Kain growled. "Intoxicated as you were, you would have been_rediculously_ simple to kill! A_child_ could have finished you off with ease! If you hadn't found shelter in this stable, you would have burned at dawn, and all that would be left of you is a scorch mark on the ground!" He threw Melchiah roughly to the ground and whirled on the others. "This goes for the rest of you as well! If_any_ of you exceed the limit of two drunks in a single night, I will personally subject you to my own personal torture, and rest assured Melchiah will get it tonight! Hear his screams and remember what earned him that pain. Let's go." Without another word, he turned to walk out of the stable, his hands clenched at his sides.

One by one, each of us glanced toward Melchiah before following, not envying the fool's predicament. But Zephon, being Zephon, could not leave without one last witty remark.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to sweet Daisy?" Zephon petted the cow's muzzle and crooned, "You made Daisy such a happy cow."

"SHUT UUUUP!" Melchiah screeched and bolted out of the barn.

Zephon chuckled and leaned his elbow against the cow's flank, murmuring in her ear, "Don't fret, Daisy. I'm sure he'll be back. Yeeesss. Yes, he will. Good cow." He petted her muzzle one last time before strolling out of the barn, hands in his pockets and whistling a merry tune.

* * *

Dumah, Zephon, and I all flinched for the umpteenth time as Melchiah's agonized screams echoed throughout the underground clan. This had been going on for the better part of three hours now. None of us felt like sleeping, especially with Melchiah's frantic pleas dotting his screams.

"...I think Mel's probably gotten the point by now..." Zephon said hesitantly as he set down a playing card with the symbol face-up and placed a green chip on the matching symbol on the board spread out between us, picking up a new card from the deck.

"...I think you're right," I offered, setting down a card of my own and placing a red chip in the appropriate spot, also picking up a new card. The object of the game was to get two sets of five chips in a row on the board, going either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Two decks of cards were played with, so there were two different places one could put their chip, unless the other was already used. Each player had seven cards with which to choose from. Surprisingly, Kain enforced these games of thought and strategy, saying they helped to develop our minds and speed our thought processes.

"Damn..." Dumah muttered, as I had blocked off a grouping of four that he had on the board. He thought for a moment - he always took the longest time to think, but he also thought of the best strategies - and finally placed down a card and a blue chip to block one of Zephon's groupings. He was usually the best player, but tonight he proved to be rather distracted. "How much longer do you think he'll have to suffer...?"

"Dunno," Zephon commented, plucking a card and setting it down, flicking Dumah's chip off of the board. There were four pairs of wild cards in the deck. Two pairs of a certain symbol were wild - you could place a chip anywhere. Two more pairs of a certain symbol could remove any chip that was not a part of a five-chip sequence.

"Damn..." Dumah muttered again.

I simply plucked a card from my hand and placed it down, putting my chip where Dumah's chip had been.

"You bastard," Zephon groaned.

"Yes," Dumah agreed. "And he also has his second sequence of five."

"What!" Zephon yelped, eyes widening as he stared at the board where my vertical sequence of five chips intersected his sequence of four. "When did he get the _first_ set!"

I pointed at the location on the board, smirking at the five red chips lined up diagonally, hidden amongst a smattering of blue and green chips.

"You _bastard_!" Zephon scowled and threw down his hand.

"It stopped," Dumah suddenly spoke up, lifting his head.

Zephon and I blinked at him in confusion. "...What stopped?" I asked.

"The screaming," Dumah emphasized, looking toward the door. The three of us were silent for several long moments, listening for any more screams... and slowly, we heard Kain's long, steady gait walking toward Melchiah's room. We could hear the sound of the door opening, and the soft rustle of bedsheets as Melchiah was laid down in bed. The three of us glanced at each other, gulping slightly. None of us really felt much like playing anymore.

Zephon and I quietly helped Dumah put the game away before exiting to our own rooms. The trail of blood on the stones did not fail to grab our attention. We parted ways, and I slipped into my own room.

It was then that I first realized...

Once we'd all played our part, and Nosgoth was vampire-run... each and every one of us would be expendable... He tortured to punish, now, but in the future... If one of us crossed him the wrong way...

He'd kill us...

* * *

I really expected to have this out a lot sooner... I really struggled with the first part of this chapter, and had to set it aside for quite some time due to continuing personal problems, college, and work. Sorry for the wait. R/R! 


	12. Chapter 12: Into Battle Once Again

A Thousand Years

Chapter 12: Into Battle Once Again

It's been five years since our first battle, and steadily Kain has led us all through Nosgoth, starting with the smaller towns, slaughtering all those who opposed us. Gradually, we moved on to larger villages as our experience and power grew. Oftentimes we have had to return to previously visited areas where opposition flared again. Nighttime was a time of great fear for the people, and curfews had been placed in every city. No one was allowed out of their homes after sunset save for the guards that were constantly on watch. The business of the bars plummeted, the people kicked out at sunset and the doors barred. On the other hand, the business at the brothels flared, laughably. None of the warriors fancied the idea of possibly dying without one last bedtime rendezvous.

Many modifications have been made to the hidden clan over the years. One of my favorite modifications was the introduction of a stable for our war horses, and the addition of several dogs to guard the horses from theives and wild animals. We each had two horses, a male and a female for breeding purposes, and one for when the other was recovering for an injury or happened to be killed. My horses were two of the best of their breed, stolen as colts and raised out here in the wilderness. Bane and Karma, both pitch black in color, save for the single white 'sock' on Karma's right front leg.

I'm babbling about them like a proud father, I know, but I am an animal lover at heart.

I was surprised to find that Kain had a fondness for the Irish Wolfhounds that guarded the stables. Intensely loyal dogs, and quite large, standing three and a half feet tall, they were Kain's pride. When I asked him where he'd developed a fondness of these hounds, he simply replied that in his human life, he'd grown up with a pair of Irish Wolfhounds, and they were his only comapnions. It gave me a hint of his past life, and of course made me hungry for more knowledge about it, but Kain waved off my questions and told me in so many eloquent words to bugger off.

It brought on a curiosity for my past life once again, remembering Miya's words. Funny, I hadn't thought of that so-called witch for quite some time... Nearly forgotten her, in fact. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about it, so I let the thought pass.

Zephon had developed a rather ingenious idea about a year back that he was putting into motion, and even Kain thought it was a good idea. Since it was getting increasingly difficult to hunt at night, much less satisfy the occasional desire for a drunk, Zephon suggested the capture of a few humans and a couple of kegs, to get the humans drunk and bleed them, capturing their blood into bottles and storing them for later consumption. The blood would be affectionately labeled as bloodwine, for it did resemble a thick, red wine.

I was a little bit skittish at the treatment of the humans... for although they were our food, they also had thoughs and feelings of their own... And I could not help but remember that we had all been human once, too. Did that make us cannibals, in a sense?

So, I brought up the idea of these captured humans given decent living conditions and steady meals, to not be harrassed in any means. The others were extremely skeptical, save Dumah, who looked curious. I pointed out that the bloodwine gathered from these humans would diminish in quality if the humans became weak and sick. It would be even better if the blood could be gathered from willing or docile humans - for if their blood was laced with fear and adrenaline, much of the calming effect would be lost. They accepted my reasoning and Kain decreed that new quarters were to be made for the humans to stay. But of course, the humans would never be allowed to leave the clan. We could not possibly have them leeching information back to their people.

It was Rahab that came up with the following idea: to figure out a means of keeping the bloodwine warm without having to keep a fire burning. He was digging further into the mountain, which was rumored to be a dormant volcano long ago, when he discovered the stone becoming steadily warmer the further he dug. He suggested that we carve out a room near this heat source, our own winery right there in the clan, where the bloodwine would remain warm, heated by the volcano itself. So it was done, and square shelves were installed to store the bloodwine in the volcanically heated room.

Currently we had twenty humans in our clan that were bled once every week, ten women and ten men, kept in seperate chambers so they would not procreate. The women also had a second purpose - a free meal whenever their menstrual cycles came around.

I know you're grimacing. I know.

All I have to say is, don't shun it if you haven't tried it.

The blood from a woman's womb is the purest, sweetest candy to a vampire. And quite honesty, the women like it too - for when we feed, we devour not only the blood that has been shed, but that which would be shed at a later time. So after we feed, the women are menstrual-free until the next month.

All right, all right, I'll get off the subject. I've probably lost several of my readers by this point regardless.

Anyway, back to the story.

* * *

I finished saddling up Bane in his battle armor, made of an incredibly strong but lightweight metal, giving his muzzle a pat as I mounted him and led him out of the stables to join Kain and his grey stallion, Ghost. Soon, the rest of my brothers joined us, and we all stood before Kain, tense and ready for battle. Tonight was going to be another milestone in our steady conquest of Nosgoth. We were going to the city of Avernus to dispose of the warriors stationed there. But these were more than just a few trained warriors and a bunch of villagers waving pitchforks. These were highly trained warriors, sorcerers, and priests who had demons at their beck and call, as well as the means to raise the abilities of the other warriors, making them even more formidable.

We didn't have nearly enough men to be able to completely conquer these villages and cities, but what we aimed for at the moment was to extinguish the opposition. This not only made hunting easier and safer for us, but it would make our eventual taking over of the villages far easier. We would simply have to show these humans that wherever there were warriors, we vampires would come in to kill them. Those villages that were unprotected were left unharmed, save for the occasional kill.

Kain looked over us, his low voice serious, "There will be no slacking off tonight - no mistakes made. Make sure to keep track of the time of night. This battle may take us many days to finish, so be prepared to call it off and return to the clan before sunrise. Keep in mind, this is not a retreat, no matter how the humans may cheer. They would be fools to think the sunrise would bring a complete end to the battle. We will return home to rest the horses, then switch to the next horse for the following night.

"Avernus will be difficult. If there is a sorcerer or a priest in the battles you encounter, finish them off first. It will be hard enough fighting the warriors without having to deal with enhanced abilities and demons as well. Remember to feed whenever you have a chance, no matter if you are wounded or not."

Zephon raised his hand. At Kain's questioning raised brow, he spoke up, "Am I the only one that's noticed if you're feeding from a dying warrior at the neck rather than telekinetically, you won't get attacked?"

All of us turned to Zephon in shock. The fool had actually fed that way surrounded by enemies?

Kain smirked. "Yes... I think it's a mix of stunned awe to see their companion and a vampire locked in such an intimate embrace, and the desire to not hurt their comrade in the process of trying to kill the vampire."

"You mean... We can feed that way and we actually won't be attacked?" Rahab asked, blinking.

"And you _knew_ about this?" I shot Kain an accusing look. I could remember several times when I was feeding telekinetically while trying to dodge other warriors, and getting wounded in the process.

"I knew," Kain admitted, giving me a firm look. "But I also know that there may be circumstances where that awe and shock may not come into play and you may be attacked regardless."

Ah.

"Any further questions?" Kain growled, looking around at the rest of us. After a moment of silence, he turned his horse around. "Then, let's go." He rode off into the woods with the rest of us following in a single line.

I tilted back my head and let the wind caress me with its cool hand, breathing in the crisp night air and the earthy smell of the forest all around us. I could feel Bane's powerful muscles moving as he galloped behind Ghost, ears perked forward in anticipation. Bane was a true war horse, never afraid to enter battle. He knew that his armor and I would protect him from the swords and spears of others. He was never afraid to lash out with his hooves and crush the skull of an enemy.

Soon we arrived at Avernus, standing on a hilltop above the city to get a good view, our horses occasionally stamping their hooves in excitement and nervousness. Kain stared down disdainfully at the city below, white-blue eyes glowing silver in the moonlight. His black-painted lips pulled back from his fangs in a low hiss, drawing the Soul Reaver from his back and raising it into the air with a silent battle cry. Ghost leapt forward, and we all galloped down after him with swords and spears drawn, silent save for the muffled pounding of the horse's hooves, the sound of a war drum echoing in our ears.

_Denying the lying_

_A million children fighting_

_For lives in strife_

_For hope beyond the horizon_

We burst through the gates, overtaking the guards swiftly before they could sound the alarm, cutting them down with our swords and trampling them beneath our horse's hooves. I split off from the others and galloped down the cobblestone street, leaning forward eagerly in the saddle. I was headed for the Avernus Cathedral at the center of the city. The cathedral was more than just a place of worship; it housed the priests and sorcerers that would immediately be sent out to assist the warriors should the alarm be sounded.

_A dead world_

_A dark path_

_Not even crossroads to choose from_

_All the blood-red_

_Carpets before me_

_Behold this fair creation of God_

I rose up to stand on the saddle as Bane approached the cathedral, releasing the reins, leaping from his back to the stone walls of the cathedral and catching hold of the edge wtih my claws. Sword sheathed at my side, I began to nimbly climb up the wall while Bane went to a secluded alley nearby where he would come when needed. Making my way up to one of the windows, I peered inside the stained glass, making sure there was no one in sight before using my claws to cut through the glass and silently remove it. Taking one last quick look around, I squeezed through and darted behind one of the massive pillars, slowly peering around to look at the grand room below. Several priests and sorcerers were walking around, a couple of them praying at the altar at the front of the room.

_My only wish to leave behind_

_All the days of the Earth_

_An every day Hell of my kingdom come_

I unfastened one of the many buckles on my bracers, removing the buckle and flicking it out. It spun in the air, catching the light, before landing on the floor with a soft 'ping'. Nevertheless, it caught the attention of the priests and sorcerers, who curiously gathered around and began scanning the room, wondering where it had come from. I smirked to myself and prepared my Dark Gift, leaping down and bolting toward them, unleashing my Inferno when I was within range. Screams of agony rose up as they caught on fire and began running around the room with their arms flailing, running into each other and the stone work all around them as they struggled to douse the flames. I didn't wait to watch long, there were more coming. I made my way quickly toward a sorcerer, dodging the fireball that he hurled towards me, lunging forward to slice off the offending man's head.

_The first rock thrown again_

_Welcome to Hell, little Saint_

_Mother Gaia in slaughter_

_Welcome to Paradise, Soldier_

My victory was short-lived, however, as I felt something suddenly slam into my side and send me flying into the air to land roughly nearly halfway across the great hall. I dazedly looked up, and my eyes widened at the sight of the huge beast stomping its way toward me. I recognized it from Kain's teachings - a fire demon, looking like an upright, muscular ram with red skin and a frightening face full of sharp teeth. My heart leapt into my throat as I swiftly climbed to my feet and drew my sword. My Inferno would be utterly useless against this creature of fire. As it grew close enough to attack and we circled each other, I was distracted by a pair of fireballs hurled at me from both the priest that summoned the demon and the sorcerer at his side. I barely managed to dodge them before the demon's horns slammed into my stomach and caught me, sending me up and over the demon, landing roughly on my front.

_My first cry neverending_

_All life is to fear for life_

_You fool, you wanderer_

_You challenged the Gods and lost_

I stiffly climbed to my feet, bruised and bloody, just in time to dodge another set of fireballs. This was getting me absolutely nowhere. I steered clear of the demon and began making my way toward the humans, swiftly dodging the three sets of fireballs (two from the humans, and one from the demon). I came upon the sorcerer first and tore into him with my sword as he tried to run away, hacking and slashing at his back and sides before he finally fell to one knee. I grabbed him up and fed from him swiftly, my eyes riveted on the priest and the demon. The priest stood by in stunned horror while the demon was making its way toward me again.

_Save yourself a penny for the ferryman_

_Save yourself and let them suffer_

_In hope_

_In love_

_This world ain't ready for the Ark_

Letting the demon get close, I dropped the sorcerer and bolted just as it lunged at me with its horned head lowered, dodging to the side and running toward the priest, who snapped out of his shock and tried to summon another fire spell to hit me with. I reached him before he could pull it off, impaling him through the chest and lifting his form up into the air from the upward motion of my sword, staring into the shocked priest's dying eyes until I let him slide off my sword. The demon had made its way back over again, and I had to make due with a quick telekinetic sip of blood before I had to dodge another blow. As the demon blazed past and slowed to rear its head up in confusion, I lunged at it from behind and sliced at its legs with my sword, dodging between its legs as it turned to face me and slicing at them again.

_Save yourself a penny for the ferryman_

_Save yourself and let them suffer_

_In hope_

_In love_

_Mankind works in mysterious ways_

The demon, unfortunately, was not a complete imbecile, and the fourth time I attempted such a maneuver, it whirled around to suddenly pound both its fists down on my body, knocking me down and sending me skidding across the stone floor on my back. Stunned and dazed, I blearily looked up at the demon and didn't even have time to scream as it lunged for me with its head lowered, scooping up my body and hurling me into the air.

_Save yourself a penny for the ferryman_

_Save yourself and let them suffer_

_In hope_

_In love_

_This world ain't ready for the Ark_

Smirking, I turned in midair and maneuvered myself to fall down toward the demon, sword held up with the blade pointed down toward the demon. As I fell to the demon, I slammed my blade into its head, my own strength added to the momentum of my fall giving me the strength I needed to fell the great beast. It staggered forward in dazed confusion as I rode its shoulders, wrenching my blade back to rip open its skull. With a moan, it toppled over, and began to burn away as I removed my sword and leapt from its body.

_Save yourself a penny for the ferryman_

_Save yourself and let them suffer_

_In hope_

_In love_

_Mankind works in mysterious ways_

Holding out my hand, I telekinetically called the demon's blood to me, devouring it as it entered my mouth. I could feel all of my wounds healing and power flowing through my veins. My rapture was broken off by a loud noise that made me clamp my hands over my ears.

_BOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG! BOOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGG!_

_Damn it!_ The bell tower! Someone must have escaped to sound the alarm! I didn't particularly feel up to fighting any more fire demons at the moment, so I fled from the front doors, whistling to Bane, who immediately emerged and galloped toward me. I leapt up onto his back and took off toward the distant sounds of screaming and fighting, coming upon a startling scene.

A black demon, the most fearsome demons to be summoned by the priests, was running around after the _warriors_, slaughtering them left and right. I looked around in confusion for the priest and finally caught sight of it, lying dead on the ground. _But even if they die, the demons are supposed to know who it is they are fighting against!_

Suddenly, in the midsts of the chaos, the demon spotted me.

And it waved me over to join it.

My jaw dropped in shock and confusion. _Had this demon escaped from its master and wished to fight alongside us vampries?_ I hesitantly made my way over, and the demon pointed upwards, growling something. I looked up in confusion and blinked, my eyes widening as I saw Turel with his hands pressed to his head, kneeling on the edge of the roof. I did a double-take at the demon. "_...Turel?"_

The demon... Turel... smirked and watched me. So Turel had achieved a Dark Gift as well, some sort of mind control? That was interesting. Quite a useful one, too, except that it left his body vulnerable to attack. He motioned to his body and growled to me, his voice low and glutteral, "**_Take my body and follow me to the others. My mind control can only extend for so far._**"

I understood his meaning as I leapt up to his body and picked it up, leaping back down to Bane and setting myself and Turel down on his back. Having Turel fight as a black demon would be an awesome advantage, not only for his strength, but for the confusion and panic it would cause as well. Turel turned to take off deeper into the city, and I followed him with Bane. It felt so strange carrying Turel's unresponsive body while his consciousness was in the massive demon up ahead. A sudden chilling thought occured to me... Could he do it to vampires as well...?

He led the way to the village square, where the rest of our clan were gathered, fighting warriors with a smattering of demons, priests, and sorcerers here and there. The numbers of priests and sorcerers had been reduced drastically thanks to my assault on the cathedral, so they were not _completely_ without hope. Turel grinned and barreled into the crowd with his head lowered, spikes aimed forward. Warriors flew into the air left and right, others impaled on the huge spikes, screeching and howling with agony and terror. Turel even fought against the other demons, who were too confused and dimwitted to realize he was not their ally as they died beneath his claws.

Eager to join the fight, I noticed Rahab defending a badly injured Zephon on the outskirts of the battle and quickly rode up to their side. Bane's hooves and my sword did much to mow down the warriors gathered around them, giving them breathing space for a moment. I leapt off of Bane's back and lifted Zephon up behind Turel. "Zephon, hold on to him and don't let him fall. Rahab, lead them to the outskirts of the battle until Zephon is able to rejoin us."

"What's happened to Turel?" Rahab asked as he panted for breath.

"He's using his new Dark Gift, it's a sort of mind control. His consciousness is in the black demon over there." I pointed, and Rahab's eyes widened in wonder.

"...Oh sure..." Zephon mumbled, holding up Turel with one hand while the other clutched at a nasty wound deep in his side. "...He's kicking ass all over the place due to his new Gift and it's going to inflate his ego even more."

"Better an inflated ego than our deaths," I commented wryly. I then left them to go rejoin the battle. It seems like we fought for hours, but no matter how many humans and demons we cut down, more kept coming. The bodies were stacked high and we had to be careful not to trip over the carcasses. Zephon had rejoined the battle after resting and feeding, and it was Melchiah who was taking time out at the moment. Turel had rejoined the battle after he'd been forced to leave the demon's mind. Apparently if he controlled a creature too long, it led to a massive migraine. The black demon was taken care of - it'd been on its last legs anyway, so it wasn't too difficult to terminate. I didn't really want to think about what might happen should the demon die with Turel's consciousness still inside it.

All through the battle, the bells of Avernus had been steadily ringing, an irritated humming in the backs of our ears. At some time during the fight, Kain found his way by my side and we fought back to back while he hissed in my ear, "Go back to the cathedral, Raziel. Those bells are summoning help from other cities. We will never get anywhere if those bells are not silenced."

I nodded curtly to show that I understood, and began to fight my way out of the crowd. Finally, I broke free and whistled for Bane, leaping up onto his back and running for the cathedral. Swiftly entering in through the door I entered before, I leapt down into the empty hall littered with burned and dead bodies, dashing in through a small archway to one side of the altar. I swiftly scaled the spiraling staircase, my hand on the hilt of my sword, ready to draw it at any time.

Up in the bell tower were three men who took turns ringing the masive alarm bell. They all looked up in alarm as I entered and immediately tried to scatter, but I cut them down with little effort and feasted on their blood. The bell's momentum kept it moving for the moment. It was deafening to my ears, numbing my sense of hearing until I could feel the blood pounding in them. Swiftly I scaled the ladder leading up to the rafters, nimbly dodging the swinging bell. Looking up at the support, I wondered if my Inferno would set fire to the wood, and not just people. Well, it was worth a shot.

I summoned my inferno and unleashed it up toward the support beams overhead. Sure enough, they burst into flames like dry kindling and began to crackle and burn. The bell had stopped tolling, and I decided I'd better get out of the tower before the support gave way and the bell came crashing down.

I leapt down and headed back down the stairs, hearing the groan of the wood overhead and the crackling of the fire. I had to hurry or I might get caught up in the falling debris. Leaping down the stairs several at a time, I blazed out of the stairwell and into the open hall. I barely had time to register the presence of an extremly large man bringing a war hammer down on me as my vision went black.

* * *

A/N - Holy shit, am I evil. XD Sorry for the cliffie, but this chapter was getting extremely long. The song lyrics I incorporated in the battle scene were "Planet Hell" from Nightwish. I was listening to it as I wrote that. It's extremely good battle music. I was not happy with the battle scene I wrote for Uschtenheim, so I made sure to put more effort into it this time around. Let me know what you think! Please R/R!

Also, if you have any unique/creative ideas for a name for Turel's Dark Gift, please let me know! Should I make it a contest? ..Yes, I believe I shall. Enter in your ideas and the winner's name will be posted at the beginning of either the thirteenth or fourteenth chapter!

Zephon: How about "Boggle"?

Turel: (Gives him a flat look) ...Boggle?

Zephon: Yeah! You know the term "mind boggling", don't you? Boggle! It sounds funny. Boggle boggle boggle!

Turel: ...I don't think so.

* * *

(((Outtake)))

**After a friend reads the part of the story concerning the menstruating women...**

Friend: So, it's basically like a seafood buffet for vampires?

ShadowWolf: LOL! ...For some reason, that grosses me out more than those paragraphs! XP


	13. Chapter 13: Interrogation

A Thousand Years

Chapter 13: Interrogation

As my senses slowly began to return, I was aware of an intense throbbing in my head... I could dimly hear voices, but they were somewhat muted. But.. what had happened...? I could remember leaving the bell tower... And the human with the hammer... Oh. Right.

I forced my eyes open slowly, blinking several times to clear my blurred vision. I couldn't feel my arms - my wrists were shackled up above my head and I was hanging off the ground, my ankles shackled together as well. All the blood had drained from my arms, which explained the numbness... Someone had also taken the liberty to remove my battle armor, and I hung there dressed simply in my pants.

_Oh, Raziel..._ I thought to myself in exaspiration. _How do you get yourself into these messes?_

While I struggled to regain my senses still numbed by the blow to my head, I examined my surroundings. I was in the middle of a room, all the walls around me nothing but stone. There was an altar on one side of the room identical to the altar in the Avernus Cathedral's great hall. And standing around it were a small group of priests and warriors, quietly conversing with each other.

I could sense that it was daylight outside from the unease that gripped me. I could only hope that they would not decide to publicly execute me by dragging me out into the sun... After testing the strength of the chains and finding myself too weary to use my Dark Gift, I knew I was at their mercy.

My movements had alerted the humans, and they came to surround me with differing degrees of amusement or hate in their expressions. I remained emotionless, not about to show them any sort of emotion they could use against me. I would not be the first to speak, either - let them speak when they willed.

As the silence stretched on and I examined the faces of the men surrounding me, I wondered absently if Bane was all right... If Kain and the others had taken him with them when they went back to the clan at sunrise. I had no doubt they were worried about me. I wondered briefly if Kain would return during the daylight hours in secrecy to search for me.

My ponderings were interrupted by one of the priests, who decided to finally speak up. "So, vampire... Are you comfortable? I do hope so - I'm afraid you're going to be here for quite some time."

"Oh yes," I smiled, shifting my body to set my motions swinging me slightly back and forth. "You certainly know how to make a vampire feel right at home."

Two of the warriors cracked their knuckles, but the priest remained calm, unmoved by my sarcasm. "Good. Then, let's start with the interrogation, shall we?"

"By all means," I replied jovially, "But I cannot assure you I will give you the answers you seek."

"That's quite all right," the priest smirked. "We have ways of making you talk."

_How unoriginal,_ I thought to myself dryly.

"How many vampires are there now?" was the priest's first question.

I pretended to ponder this for a while. "You know, that's a very good question. Two? Nine? Sixteen? Twenty-four? I do not know. What comes after twenty-four?" A fist slammed into my gut, knocking the wind out of me and setting my body swinging on the chains. Stunned and breathless, I resisted the urge to cough, to give them any sort of satisfaction that I could prevent.

(Raziel?) I heard Kain's voice in my head and inwardly sighed with relief. So our empathy was still active.

(Yes, I'm awake... Where are you?) I proceeded to ignore any further questions the priest would send at me, concentrating on Kain's voice.

(I am in the Avernus Cathedral, searching in the rubble caused by the collapsing of the bell. Where are you, and what happened?)

Armored fists slammed into my body once again, sending me swinging as they used me as a punching bag for my silence. I flinched, but never made a sound. (I do not know where I am... It is a stone chamber with an altar identical to the one in the great hall... I was knocked out and captured. They are trying to interrogate me now.)

(How much do they know?) Kain growled lowly.

(Nothing. I haven't said anything about us.) I replied grimly, rather disgusted that Kain would think me so weak as to crumble and spill everything.

(Good, make sure you don't. I'll try to find my way there.) Kain then cut off our mental link, and I was left alone once again.

The priest was staring at me with disgust, but then smirked slowly. "I don't think our dear friend is going to be convinced to speak at this rate. It looks as if we'll have to be more... persuasive."

I felt my body tense as the guards each brought out a cat o' nine tails, a vicious nine-tailed whip with barbs on the ends. _Oh no..._ I tightly closed my eyes as the first blow of the whip crackled across my back. The burning pain of the leather combined with the stabbing, ripping feeling of the small barbs was excruciating. The second guard started at my chest, and they took turns, alternating back and forth. I tried so hard to be silent, but soon I just couldn't hold it in any longer and began to whimper.. small, pathetic noises that disgusted me to no end... soon followed by short, wracking screams.

Even as I screamed, they continued on. I could feel the hot wetness of my blood spilling from my body. The guard at my back lowered his aim towards my rump, and at the first feeling of the barbs sinking through the pants into the sensitive flesh, I shrieked in agony, my body weakly trying to curl in on itself, to shield itself from the abuse.

Have you ever accidentally run your backside against a sharp corner or edge and felt that almost nauseating pain associated with it, amplified with every movement? The backside is rediculously sensitive, though I haven't the slightest idea why.

It took me several moments to realize that the whipping had stopped. Breathing heavily, I slowly cracked open my stormy blue eyes, swallowing weakly and staring at the priest in front of me. The priest smirked with sadistic pleasure at my pain. "Let's try again, vampire. How many vampires now exist in the world?"

Hurting too much for any further wisecracking, I simply remained silent, glaring defiantly at the priest. The priest, in return, grinned more widely and stepped back, motioning to the guards again. But they'd switched their weapons for something else. At first, I was confused at the buckets they carried... But I felt my eyes bulge out of my head as I heard the sloshing of water inside, beginning to gasp desperately for air, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest as fear caught me in its icy grip.

They set down the buckets of water and took out a rag, smirking as they brought the sopping, dripping piece of cloth up to my body. I began thrashing, desperate to get away from the burning touch of water, when the first cloth was wrung out and water splashed down onto my right shoulder. I screeched and howled with agony as the burning acid trickled down my back and chest, my skin bubbling and burning away wherever it touched. The second rag was wrung out across my back, and I cried out at the biting, burning, acidic pain as the water trickled into the whip wounds and began eating away at muscle.

The next assault was on top of my head. I howled and shook my self like a dog, trying to get the water off as it ate away at my scalp, face, ears, and neck, and the torture continued. I felt myself descending into madness, my mind losing contact with my body.

Everything began to feel so blissfully numb... I could no longer hear what the priest had to say... I couldn't even hear my own screams.

* * *

Dimly, I became aware of a familiar presence in the room... The priests and warriors had all left my side... and as my awareness returned, I could hear the clashing of swords and the screams of the humans. I could see nothing through the dim haze that lay over my eyes... The commotion was all behind me, regardless. Soon, the screams ceased, and I heard the quiet sound of Kain's boots approaching me from behind, walking around to look up at me. 

...I've never seen Kain looked shocked or horrified before... I must have really looked a mess for him to whisper my name with such quiet incredulity. He broke the chains around my wrists and ankles, taking me down into his arms... I hadn't the strength to stand on my own. He took his cloak off and wrapped it around me securly. It was made of a special material that would completely block out any sort of light. He double-checked to make sure none of my parts were in view, and I felt myself being carried out of Avernus.

My mind could still barely register what was going on. I could feel the heat of the sun on the cloak that covered me, and it filled me with helpless terror. I could not stop shaking, a helpless babe in Kain's protective embrace.

As he brought me back to the clan, I heard the voices of my brothers all around me. Zephon and Dumah were frantic to know if I was all right. Rahab and Turel were eager to know what happened, while Melchiah was indifferent.

"He's been tortured," Kain replied shortly, "and is in need of rest. He will not be joining us in battle tonight."

Turel snorted. "What could they have done to him that a little bit of blood won't cure?"

I felt the cloak being removed from my head, flinching as I felt a piece of my scalp being pulled off, whimpering slightly. I forced open my eyes to blearily gaze upon my brothers. Turel let out a startled curse, his dark eyes wide. Rahab and Dumah both clamped their hands over their mouths, and Rahab had to look away. Zephon whispered something inaudible, blanching white as a ghost. Even Melchiah took a step back in horror.

...Now I was really growing curious as to how badly I looked.

Kain moved on past them without another word, and they parted silently to let him through, staring at each other with horror. He brought me to my room and laid me down on my bed, gently removing the cloak. Where the blood had soaked into the cloak and dried, it pulled off patches of skin from my body as it was removed. Looking past Kain to the full-length mirror on the opposite side of the room, I finally saw my condition...

My mind could not make sense of it at first. The thing lying in the bed could not possibly be vampire. There were long, red, shredded wounds all over my chest, stomach, and sides... I knew they were on my back as well. All down my body, mingling with the wounds, were burned patches of skin with pus-filled blisters and tatters of hanging, dead skin. I looked to be little more than a mass of blistered, bloody, raw flesh. And my face...

I could not recognize my face.

My eyes seemed to stand out as the only normal part left... Hollow, smoky blue orbs filled with a nameless horror. My hair was missing clumps where the skin had peeled away and simply fallen off, bloody flesh beneath. There were even sections of white where my skull was exposed. My face had raw flesh burns all where the water had trickled... It had eaten away my nose, and I hadn't realized until that moment that there were holes in my cheeks, showing my sharp fangs, teeth, and tongue within.

If I'd had any blood left in my stomach that hadn't gone to heal what it could of my body, I would have thrown it up at that point. Kain noticed where I was staring and quickly moved into my line of vision as I began to gag. He waited until I calmed down before slicing open his wrist and offering it to me.

Despite the lingering queasy feeling in my stomach, my body knew what it had to do to survive. My mouth clamped over his wrist and I sunk my fangs into his skin, ravenously feeding from him, feeling the exquisite pleasure as his power rushed into my veins. The holes in my cheeks were the first to heal as some of the blood oozed out and began to heal it on the spot. After that, it went to work on the rest of my body.

...I'd never fed from Kain for so long, and he made no move to draw back as I took more and more of his blood. There was a strange look in his eyes as he gazed down upon me... A look I couldn't identify as of yet.

Finally, on the brink of unconsciousness, he gently drew his wrist back and licked over the wound. I'd never seen him look so pale... His skin was as white as fresh-fallen snow, perfectly matching his hair. It made his eyes stand out so much more. He lightly ran his claws through my hair - I'd healed enough so that the skin of my scalp had healed over and would not peel away - and stood, slowly turning to walk from the room and close the door behind him.

Numb and exhausted, sleep quickly enveloped me in its warm embrace.

* * *

A/N - Poor Raziel... Why is it that authors always wish to make their favorite characters go through so much suffering? ;; Especially me... I always ask myself why I make my characters suffer so much. Especially since my favorite characters have a habit of DYING ON ME! Seriously, I should make out a list of all of my favorite characters in books, movies, and games that die. I can only think of ONE that doesn't... Vincent Valentine of FFVII. But that's because he's a minor character. Bet you anything, though, with my luck... When Final Fantasy: Dirge of Cerberus comes out in America, I'll bet you ANYTHING Vincent is going to die in the end. He will die BECAUSE OF MY CURSE! I thought falling in love with Raziel would be safe because he's a wraith and he's already kinda dead so he can't die! 

You can imagine my reaction at the end of Defiance. "GODDAMNIT!"

;; I like to rant. Can you tell?

So many reviews...! (All teary-eyed with happiness) THANK YOU! I will take a moment to address some of them.

YaoiDiva - Yeah, your fanfic inspired me to do an outtake of my own. XD Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of outtake material. Hey, maybe I'll make a chapter full of bloopers instead! A Raziel/Dumah pairing just might take place, but at the end of writing this chapter, it looks like a Kain/Raziel pairing might still be possible too. I really do like Kain/Raziel pairings. Thanks for the suggestion!

Schuldig Schwarz - Thanks, I'm glad I didn't make it TOO boring. I've really been tempted at that pairing too because I have a bit of sadism in me too. (Looking back on this particular chapter) ...Okay, maybe more than "a bit". O.o; ...Maybe someday I'll just make a couple of short fics detailing Raziel having relationships with some of the others. I don't think I could do a Melchahim one... Same with Rahab. Zephon I could see being just in the relationship for the sex, so a relationship wouldn't work well there... So Dumah and Turel are the best candidates other than Kain. I think Janos could definitely be a pairing too for a post-execution fic. WAAH! Too many choices! X3

DuoPhreaks - Thanks for your suggestion and I'm glad you like it!

Emerada - Thanks for your suggestion too!

Northstar1982 - (Cracks up laughing while Raziel blushes) TMI is right, but I'm cool with it. My longest was 23 days. It would have been longer if I hadn't gone to the doctor to get those little BC pills, and they magically stopped it the next day. So I quit the pills because I'm too lazy to keep up with them. XD

Smoke - Ahahahaaa. X3

Tom T. Thomson - (Grins) Thank you!

Also! (Bounces up and down, happy happy happy!) I just got my Soul Reaver and Defiance comics in the mail today from eBay! EEEEEEEE!

The Soul Reaver comic... sucks total ass... because of how they draw Raziel. IF THE CHARACTERS IN THE COMIC DESCRIBE RAZIEL HAVING A BEAUTIFUL FACE, DONCHA THINK HE SHOULD BE _DRAWN_ WITH A BEAUTIFUL FACE! And really... WTF was with all of the bottom-up, open mouthed nostril shots? Poor Raziel... They did you NO justice WHATSOEVER.

Kain wasn't much better.. They drew him with red veins and red eyes. e.e;; But the Defiance comic is pretty damn cool. Kain still looks a little funky here and there, but all in all, pretty damn sexy for a crusty old vamp.

So far, we've got three entries for Turel's Dark Gift! We have "Soul Steal", "Mind Storm", and "Shadow Mind", both excellent choices. So, my dear readers, if you can't help me with other names, you're quite welcome to vote!

Wow... Talk about a long author's note.

Aaanyway... PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING! It makes me all warm and happy inside!


	14. Chapter 14: Swift Recovery

A Thousand Years

Chapter Fourteen: Swift Recovery

* * *

When I next opened my eyes, it seemed like days had passed... I knew from my instinctive restlessness that it must be night, or close to it. My entire body was aching and stiff. I could barely move. I don't know how long I lay there, staring up at the ceiling... Presently my gaze focused on the mirror across the small room, and I felt my entire body give a jump of surprise.

Sickening was the sight of my once-handsome face... I looked absolutely hideous, with bubbling scar tissue all down my face, neck, shoulders, and chest. _Will I forever be left with these scars...?_ I thought to myself in horror, reaching up with one hand to touch the scar tissue. It felt hard and uneven beneath my fingertips... I didn't want to know what my back looked like. Slowly, I found the strength to sit up. I was ravenous... I had to hunt, no matter how weak I was... My body craved that healing blood.

I slowly left my chambers and wandered out into the deserted hallways. Distantly I heard the even breathing of my brothers, fast asleep in their chambers. _So it must not yet be night..._ A little bit further and I stopped in front of Kain's chambers, but I heard no breath or heartbeat within.

..._What?_ I thought to myself in confusion. _...Where would Kain be? He should be resting up for the battle... Especially after carrying on into the day as he had..._

I heard a scuffling noise near the entrance, and caught the faint sound of a frightened whimper. Immediately I began toward the entrance, and stopped abruptly as I saw Kain with a warrior in his grasp, his hand over the man's mouth, the other arm pinning the man's arms to his sides. He stopped at seeing me, surprised at my wakeful state. His voice, as always, was a silken sound in my ears. "You truly are the strongest of your brothers, to have not only survived that torture, but to be up and walking around not even a day after."

"..I'm sure your generous donation aided my recovery," I commented softly. Gone were the days I would brighten under his praise. I simply took it as a fact to consider. The warrior's eyes were bulging at the sight of me, groaning behind Kain's hand. I gestured to him slightly. "...Why bring a warrior here?"

"For you to feed," Kain replied simply, snapping the terrified guard's neck and killing him instantly. He held the body out to me, and I took it, sinking my fangs into the neck to drain every last drop of the warrior's blood. The sweet elixir filled me with strength and removed the soreness from my body.

When I was finished, Kain took the body out to go dispose of it while I simply looked after him in puzzlement. He was practically doting on my like a mother hen... How strange. He could have plucked any human off the streets, but instead he chose a warrior whose powerful blood would speed my recovery tenfold. _There's no doubt a reason behind it,_ I thought to myself bitterly. _Oh, of course... He probably wants me back in battle as soon as possible._ As Kain returned, I gestured slightly to my face and asked, "..Will I forever be left with these scars?"

"No, Raziel. They have already diminished, and will continue to fade with every feeding. Vampires cannot permanently scar." He noticed my glance toward the scar on his chest and gestured to it dismissively, "This was my death wound as a human. Death wounds and scars from before our rebirth as vampires, depending on the state of the body when resurrected, may follow us into the unlife."

"What do you mean, 'depending on the state of the body?'" I questioned curiously as Kain and I began walking deeper into the clan.

"Depending on the amount the body has decomposed," Kain clarified. "If the flesh has decomposed to the point where it has rotted away the scar tissue, that scar will not be present in one's rebirth."

"I see." We paused outside of my chambers, and I looked up at Kain, voicing the question on my mind. "...Since I am recovering more swiftly than you seem to have expected, would you still have me join you in battle tonight?"

"That is entirely up to you, Raziel." His reaction puzzled me... Rarely did any of us have a choice in what we were supposed to do, because Kain's word was law.

"...Is it?" I tried to clarify, hoping for an explanation.

"If you feel strong enough to enter into battle, then by all means, you may join us. But if you feel you are still too weak, that your weakness will slow you down and leave you vulnerable, then you are welcome to stay behind," Kain explained patiently.

I considered for a moment before giving my reply. "...Very well. There are few enough of us as it is... You will be needing us all to assist you."

Kain nodded in approval. "Nevertheless, I want you to stay by my side throughout the battle. I want to make sure what happened last night does not happen again. You seem to have a knack for stumbling upon danger unexpectedly."

I shrugged. "Very well." Distantly I could hear my brothers rousing slowly from their sleep one by one as I could feel the sun setting below the horizon.

"By the way," Kain commented thoughtfully as he leaned back against the wall, his arms folded upon his chest, "You did a very good job on taking down Avernus's bells. Now their only means of help would be to send out messengers, and they can only go so fast. We should be finished by the time help arrives."

"...Is Bane all right?" I hadn't yet seen my faithful stallion and was worried for his safety.

"Worried sick about you," Kain snorted. "I had to tie him to the other horses so he would leave. He kept trying to return to Avernus Cathedral. He is in the stables."

I could hear Turel and Dumah exiting their rooms, commenting quickly, "I'd best check up on him then." I departed hastily for the stables, stepping out into the night, the sky still a shade of grey that would soon darken to black. Call me vain, but I didn't want to see the horrified or pitying looks on my brothers' faces at the sight of my scars.

Kain made no move to stop me as I headed out into the woods toward the stables. The dogs all gathered around as I neared, tails waving, nudging my hands to be petted. I was all too willing to comply. They were such social and loyal dogs that if they wished for a petting, who was I to deny them? Petting furred animals also has a caliming, soothing effect on one's state of mind. I call it "fuzz therapy."

I could hear Bane whinnying within, shifting restlessly in his stall. He could sense me out here and wanted to see me. Immediately I headed inside and to his stable, reaching up to pet his muzzle as he pranced in excitement and relief, ears perking forward. He looked exhausted... He obviously hadn't gotten any sleep. Karma was well-rested on the other hand, and reached her head over the stalls to lip at my hair affectionately.

The sounds of the dog's excited whimpers alerted me to the presence of someone else approaching the stable. I sighed... It would be foolish to go running again when someone was obviously looking for me. I turned just as Dumah and Zephon stepped inside. Both of them stared at me with mingled worry and horror, Zephon blanching more so than Dumah. "Raziel," Dumah greeted cautiously, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I replied with a shrug. "..A few more feedings, and I should be back to normal."

"What the hell did those bastards _do_ to you?" Zephon whispered in horror. He couldn't take his eyes off of my scarred body.

I frowned slightly, uncomfortable with his staring. "...They beat me, whipped me, and poured water on me."

"Fucking sons of bitches," Zephon growled, flinching sympathetically.

"Will you be joining us tonight after all?" Dumah asked, noting my energized state. I nodded in affirmation, and he nodded in return. "If you need my help, just ask."

"Thanks, but Kain has ordered me to stay by his side for the entirety of the battle. I doubt I'll be needing any."

* * *

A/N - Sorry for the rather lengthly delay... And for cutting it off here. My will to write has basically been shot to the ground. I posted the first chapter to a story I had in mind to start... A Final Fantasy 7 story... And I'm just way too sensitive to criticism. I should never have asked for the opinions of the writers on pairings because I hate disappointing people... Some are right, it would be better without a pairing, while others like certain pairings and hope for them... It's just really discouraging opening up a review alert e-mail with high hopes, only to have the words "NO NO NO NO NO!" jump out at you first thing. Others were disappointed at the posting of the short summary of what I had planned for the story, saying I shouldn't have entered it in because I'd lose readers that way... I was hoping the summary would encourage them to keep reading rather than driving them away, but I guess I was wrong... Like I said, I'm far too sensitive to criticism, especially a lot of it.

Sigh...


	15. Chapter 15: Sleeping Beauty

A Thousand Years

Chapter Fifteen: Sleeping Beauty

A/N: Waves arms around Aaah! No no no, you misunderstand! I'm not ending the fanfic, I just cut off the chapter there because I didn't know what else to write, but the story's not finished! Please do not fret! The story will go on! But thank you so much for all of your supportive words, everyone! Particularly SammyBlack, metal-mako-dragon, Yaoi Diva, DGA, HealerAriel, and Dark Fate. Thank you!

Finals are FINALLY over with... College finals suck, lemme tell ya, right up there with really long work days. So hopefully I'll be able to spend more time writing these stories and keeping all you people entertained!

AND! A big congrats to DuoPhreaks for winning the Turel's Gift contest, which will from here on be known as "Mind Storm"! A big thanks to everyone for participating! "Mental Intoxication" and "Doppleganger" were added to the contest. Doppleganger from HealerAriel was runner up, with Emerada's "Shadow Mind" in third. Perhaps the reason I didn't choose Doppleganger was for quite a silly reason... HealerAriel, please don't shoot me for this, but my perverted mind looks at Doppleganger and thinks Gangbanger. XD! And it would make me giggle every time I typed it, and I don't think Turel would appreciate it, so... Mind Storm it is! HUZZAH! Everyone who participated, have a cookie.

* * *

Kain, my brethren, and I stood atop the hill overlooking the flaming city of Avernus. All of the guards and warriors had been slain, and all that remained were those who did not seek to fight us. Kain's icy, moonlit eyes glowed as he surveyed his conquest, standing tall and proud like the leader he was. The wind played with the moon-kissed strands of bone white hair, armor and skin splattered with so much blood... Yet somehow, not a drop stained the pristine whiteness of his hair, as if such a blasphemy would have been unthinkable.

It was just as tempting now as it always was to reach out and run my fingers through those strands, to stroke them and nestle my face in them, to breathe in his unique scent and wrap it around me like an invisible blanket. And now, as it always was, I restrained myself and kept a neutral face, following his gaze slowly out across the land.

I was proud of our conquest... We all were proud. We'd proven that we were ready to take on the bigger cities, to handle their most powerful warriors. Kain had done well in our training, and had perfectly timed when we would be ready to fight.

My scars were gone as if they had never been there... With the blood of so many warriors to feed on, our own powers had grown tremendously, and I had been able to heal the very night after my torture. It had only taken us three days to bring Avernus to its knees. My heart swelled with the power I felt, but not so much to make me cocky and headstrong. My torture had taught us all a valuable lesson: We were powerful, but not all-powerful... Not yet.

Kain turned to us, regarding each of us in turn before giving a satisfied nod. "You have done all that I expected of you, and more. Keep it up, and we'll have this world at our feet in no time at all." His gaze turned to Turel, who looked especially proud of himself. "An interesting Gift you received. What are you going to call it?"

"Mind Storm," Turel replied with a smirk.

Kain gave a nod. "Fitting." He then regarded him with an uplifted brow sternly. "Have you tried using that little trick on any of your brothers yet?"

Turel frowned slightly before replying, "It doesn't seem to work on vampires. It works best on demons, but only temporarily on humans."

"It just gives vampires a big-ass fucking headache," Zephon grumbled, sending Turel a look. I now knew who Turel's guinea pig had been.

"It probably has to do with the level of intelligence the creature subjected to his Mind Storm has," Dumah suggested. "...Although I could very well be wrong, considering Zephon's IQ is somewhat lacking..." He trailed off on a teasing note, smirking.

"...OY! Take it back, Peabrain!" Zephon pounced toward Dumah, and the two of them took off on a merry chase through the woods, laughing and sending insults back and forth at each other. The rest of us stared after them, blinking.

"...I do believe he has a point," Kain spoke at length, "But it probably has to do more along the lines of mental power. A vampire's mind is far more able to withstand magical assault than a human's."

"But demons are capable of speech and coherent thoughts, and they are very powerful magically... Wouldn't they be better able to resist?"

Kain snorted. "Demons follow humans at their every beck and call. How intelligent can they possibly be?"

...Good point.

"Come, let us return to the clan where we may celebrate our victory." Kain walked past us to head back, gliding like a blood-stained ghost through the forest, and the rest of us followed suit.

* * *

The years passed by more quickly with each passing season, and with each year, the clan grew in size, expanding our chambers until we each had our own wing with several rooms for our own private use. Our bloodwine cellar had grown in size, the numbers of our donors increased. We even had personal maids now to clean up our chambers and make sure everything was in order, and guard dogs roaming the halls to make sure none disturbed us while we slept. They also made sure none of the maids attempted to leave, but our maids were pretty willing to comply with our wishes. None of them wanted to die.

But one night, theusual humdumof our lives was interrupted. I headed for the training chambers as I did every evening to meet Kain, but as I walked into the room, I was surprised to find that he was not there. Kain had always been the first to appear in the chambers every evening before every lesson. I thought at first I must have been early, so I prepared myself, beginning my stretches to loosen and awaken my drowsy muscles. But fifteen minutes later he still had not come... And after half an hour of waiting, I was beginning to grow worried.

Kain was a stickler for timeliness. Lateness was always punishable, and I could not imagine why he would not be here now without warning. I attemted to establish a mental link with him, to ask where he was, but my words echoed back to me as if they'd hit a wall... Which meant he was either asleep/unconscious, out of range, or had put up a mental barrier so as not to be disturbed.

I snapped out of my dark worry as Turel stepped into the room and stopped short, looking around the room before his dark gaze settled upon me. "...Where is Kain?" he asked gruffly, glancing back out the door as if he would walk in.

"I don't know," I replied slowly, worry now very evident in my tone. If Turel was here, two hours had passed, and it was his turn for training. "...He never showed up for my training."

Turel grunted slightly and tried to appear indifferent, but I knew he was worried by the news as much as I was. "Maybe he went out hunting?"

"He's never arrived after me for training, he's never been late." I stood up, sword in hand. "Something must definitely be wrong. I'll go check out Kain's chambers while you ask the maids if any of them have seen him leave the clan." Turel gave a nod and departed while I set out for Kain's wing.

I encountered one of the maids on the way to his chambers and stopped her. "Excuse me, Myria? Have you seen Kain at all this evening?"

The green-eyed brunette blinked down at me in confusion, for she knew our schedule as well as we did. Yes - _down_ at me. The blasted woman was a full seven inches taller than me. It was a sort of running joke between us, where she'd prop her elbow on top of my head and lean on me, or accuse me of staring at her breasts because I was too proud to look up at her. As far as I knew, I was the only one that would joke around with the maids in this fashion, and they in turn were more relaxed around me.

"No, Raziel, I haven't... He didn't show up for training?" Her voice held a natural husky purr.

"No, he didn't... Thank you, Myria." She gave a nod as I continued on towards Kain's wing, and finally to his bedchambers. I could faintly hear his heartbeat within... But it was far slower than I'd ever heard it before, almost nonexistent. I quickly opened the door without knocking and slipped inside... I'd never seen more than a glimpse of the inside of his bedchambers before. They were massive... Nearly triple the size of my own bedchambers. A large four-poster wrought iron bed stood in the middle against the northern wall, the bedsheets black satin and chenille. Black velvet curtains hung around the bed, trimmed with gold and obscuring Kain's form within. Over the floor was a beautifully decorated red and gold rug. Beside the bed was a large black dresser with gold trim, and against one wall was a large desk piled high with papers, ink wells, and quills. On the other side of the bed was a night stand containing his personal items - his hair brush and the like.

Framing the desk were two large bookshelves that took up the rest of the space on that wall, nearly filled with books that looked to be written by Kain himself. On the opposite side of the room was a grand fireplace made of the rare red-veined black marble with gold trim. How in the blazes Kain managed to build a fireplace inside the mountain without having the smoke back up was beyond me... He must have carved out a place for the smoke to go without letting it attract attention. Beside the fireplace was a large red velvet chair, and decorating the walls all around were various weapons, where torches did not give light to the room. Beside the chair was a small table, probably meant for holding bloodwine. Finally, against the wall where I stood in the doorway, there were more bookshelves - but these were packed to the brim, and the books looked ancient... They must have been many thousands of years old.

Slowly, I approached the great bed and called out to Kain, but I received no response in return... No deeper breath, no quickening of heartbeat, no movement against the bedsheets. Reaching out, I slowly drew aside the thick velvet curtain to reveal Kain's sleeping form. I'd only beheld him sleeping once before, and he was even more breathtaking now than he was in my tomb. But now I had more time to admire his body at rest.

In wakefulness, he was a predator always moving with a liquid and deadly grace, always ready to pounce. In his sleeping state, he looked a fallen angel... A God carved out of alabaster and given life. Hair of the softest spider silk pooled in the black sheets beneath him, stark contrast to the darkness. His head was turned slightly in my direction, his aristocratic features softened to a state of peacefulness. His lips, usually stern and pressed thin, looked softer now, more kissable... His dark eyelashes softened the sharpness of his high cheekbones. His nude form was utter perfection, nothing but lean muscle - save for the long death scar down the middle of his stomach. The curve of his hipbones could be seen just above where the sheets obscured the rest of his body. His small nipples were barely a shade darker than his skin. One hand was drawn up near his face while the other draped over his stomach. I suddenly found myself leaning over his face, reaching out to touch his cheek...

At the contact with his soft skin, I yanked my hand back in surprise. He was cold as glacial ice, colder than the dead. Reaching down, I took hold of his shoulders and tried to shake him into wakefulness, but no matter how persistent I was, he would not wake... His extremely slow heartbeat and the barest rise and fall of his chest was all that told me he was still alive.

Panic rose like a sharp spike in my chest. Immediately I called out to my brothers to come to Kain's bedroom as swiftly as they could. Within moments I heard their swift footsteps as they all ran into the room... Every one of them stopping in their tracks at seeing me continue to try to shake Kain awake.

"...What the hell..." Zephon whispered, his eyes wide.

"He won't wake up," I looked to them, my eyes wide with worry. "...I can barely pick up his heartbeat and he's hardly breathing..."

Dumah was the first to step forward, walking briskly to my side and leaning over to inspect Kain. "...Do you think his bloodwine could have been poisoned?"

I reached over for the bottle of bloodwine sitting on the nightstand and uncorked it to sniff at the contents. "...It doesn't smell any different..."

"Some poisons don't leave behind any distinctive smell or taste," Dumah growled as he paced. The others gathered around the bed, looking at a loss. Soon I found all of their faces turned towards me... asking me what we should do.

Somehow, I knew what must be done. I found myself slipping into an authorative tone as if it were as natural as breathing. "Search the maid's chambers for anything they may have used to poison the bloodwine. Check the donor humans as well. Interrogate them, but do _not_ bring them harm until we know whether or not poison is the reason behind Kain's comatose state. Melchiah and Zephon, I want the two of you to round up the humans. I repeat, I do _not_ want them harmed if they are not at fault. Bring all of the humans to the main hall and isolate them there while we search. After the servant's quarters are checked, Dumah and I will be in charge of searching the humans personally. Dismissed."

As one, they all turned and headed for the door as if it were Kain's orders they were following rather than mine. I drew the curtains back over Kain's form and headed for the door, shutting it and whistling for the dogs. Two of the stocky wolf hounds padded up, wagging their tails. I rubbed their ears and pointed to Kain's door. "Guard Kain's door and bark if any human nears it. Do not let any human enter it." By the wagging of their tails I knew they understood, so I turned to follow after my brethren.

* * *

(Shields herself from the angry yells) I know, I'm sorry for the cliffie, but I wanted to get this chapter out soon to reassure my readers that this story isn't dead yet! I'll update soon! 


	16. Chapter 16: No Kiss From a Prince

A Thousand Years

Chapter Sixteen: No Kiss From A Prince

* * *

All of the slaves and donors had been gathered in the main room, lined up and quaking from head to toe. The stench of fear was so thick it nearly choked me. I paced at the head of the room, arms folded behind my back, waiting for the last couple of stragglers to be led in before I stopped and faced them, raising my voice to be heard by all. "Lord Kain lies in bed, barely breathing, his heart almost completely still in his chest. He will not wake. The only likely cause for this seems to be that someone poisoned his bloodwine."

The silence was thick in the air as all of the humans tensed, glancing to each other, each having gone pale as a ghost. I made a curt gesture for Zephon and Rahab to begin searching the chambers while Melchiah, Dumah, Turel, and I gazed out over the crowd. Resuming my pacing, I cast cold eyes over the humans gathered. "If any poisons or anything of the sort are found anywhere, rest assured the person whose room it was in will be swiftly executed. Should Lord Kain die... I assure you, we won't simply kill the ones responsible. Every one of you will be slaughtered." My voice was bitter and icy, ignoring the surprised looks from a few of the humans I knew personally. If they thought they would be exempt from this, they were sadly mistaken.

For who is to say that they did not poison Lord Kain, hoping to elevate me to the head position so they would not have to deal with Kain's cold, unforgiving attitude? I had no way of knowing. If Kain perished, what would happen to his dream? What would happen to us? Yes, we were more than capable of living on our own now, but without Kain, we might not be able to take over Nosgoth. I couldn't imagine how difficult the battles would be without Kain's experience and wisdom to back us up.

I glanced back to my brothers. "I'm going to go check up on Kain. Make sure they do not leave this room." I shifted my gaze particularly to Turel and Melchiah. "Do not harm them unless they are deserving of it." I made sure my tone left no room for argument. Without waiting for a reply, I turned and left the main chamber, heading back to Kain's room and was startled to see both dogs sound asleep, curled up together in front of his door. I kneeled down and patted their heads to wake them, but they didn't stir... The both of them were in a state of deep sleep, and nothing I did would rouse them.

My brows drew together in confusion. What if it wasn't poison...? What if it was some sort of virus? Yet the dogs weren't nearly dead, as Kain was... Their breathing and heartbeats were very audible still. Perhaps it was worse to the undead? Or perhaps it simply hadn't had enough time to put the dogs in a worse state? I opened the door and stepped over the dogs, heading inside to approach Kain's bed. Drawing back the curtain, I sat down beside him and reached out to touch his face once more... But well before my fingers came in contact with his skin, his body was no longer ice cold... It seemed to be burning hot. Startled, I felt Kain's forehead, surprised at the amount of heat emanating from his alabaster skin. His eyelids seemed to be burning more than anything else... And as I reached down, I found the same to be with his hands.

...I snapped back to attention several moments later as my eyelids started to drift closed and I felt a weariness descend upon me. _It must have been affecting me too... _I realized weakly, too late. I should have expected this... The dogs should have been warning enough.

I didn't even think to warn my brethren as I slumped forward with my head resting upon Kain's chest, falling into unconsciousness, curled up against his still body.

* * *

My eyes opened, and I returned to the world once more. Kain's bedsheets were spread out before me, and I could see the outlines of his legs beneath the sheets. Several moments later, I remembered the events prior to my descent into sleep, and I quickly lifted my head. If I was now awake, did that mean Kain was as well...? Or was he dead? Swiftly I turned my gaze behind me.

Golden eyes gazed back at me from Kain's pale aristocratic features, one slender white brow lifted in curiosity. No doubt he was wondering why the blazes I was asleep with my head nearly in his lap, here in his room where none of us were allowed.

I stared deeply into his eyes, stunned at the change in them, unsure if I liked the golden amber more than pale blue-white. Slowly I lifted a hand up to his face - but it never made it all the way to touch at his cheek, for Kain's hand closed around mine - and rather than the feeling of five lithe fingers, instead my hand was encased by three massive talons. My face contorted in confusion, glancing from his eyes to his claws. "Kain..." I finally seemed to find my voice, soft with incredulity. "...What has happened to you...?"

"Metamorphosis, dear Raziel. I'd have thought you'd figured it out by now." He released my hand, only to slip the massive claws beneath my fingertips, straightening out my hand so that the two were placed, palms together. His hand was much larger now too, the claws extending almost two inches above the tips of my fingers. I stared at them, entranced. "I assume my eyes have changed color as well? You could barely tear your eyes away from them."

"Yes..." I murmured, looking back into his eyes. "They're gold now."

Kain sighed. "Typical. All vampires get gold eyes as they age. And the cloven hands and feet." The way he spoke, it was almost as if he expected that it should have been different for him - that he deserved better. But of course he did, this was Kain, after all.

"...Feet?" I turned my gaze now toward the lumps of his feet beneath the sheets. Come to think of it, they did seem quite a bit larger than one would think... A moment later Kain had slightly kicked aside the sheet, exposing his cloven foot. "...Oh..." I murmured dazedly in a state of shock. Kain had metioned physical changes, had said how Vorador had turned green with cat-like ears and golden eyes, with cloven hands and feet... But I hadn't quite imagined it would be like this. "...At least your skin didn't turn green," I blurted without thinking.

Kain paused for a moment, then tilted his head back and laughed uproariously. After a moment, I started laughing too, trying without success to imagine Kain with green skin. "Maybe next time, Raziel," Kain chortled, giving me a light shove out of the bed. "Out. I need to change."

Scrambling to regain my balance, I hurried out of the room, wondering absently exactly how long I'd been out, and what I would find had become of the others.

* * *

A/N - (Throws arms over head and cowers down, cringing and waiting for objects to be thrown) I am _so_ sorry it took so long to get this out! Life has a way of sucking sometimes, y'know?

Anyhoo... I decided to drop out of college for the time being. I'm just not mature enough to handle the responsibility yet, and it's been stressing me out to the point where I've been feeling rather suicidal. So now I'm trying to get a full time job on top of my part time job at Quizno's Subs so I can get benefits and such, along with the money to pay back the student loans I've accumulated.

e.e; Sigh.

Well, drop me a review, everyone, please! Reviews make me very happy and give me incentive to write more!

ALSO! THE FIRST PERSON TO REVIEW WILL HAVE GIVEN ME THE 101ST REVIEW FOR THIS FIC! (Does the 100 hits happy dance) There WILL be a prize! And that prize will be your choice of any scene so far in this fic to be drawn by yours truly! Granted my drawing skills are not the greatest, but they're not bad either!

Yours truly, Shadow Wolf


	17. Chapter 17: Turel's Frenzy

A Thousand Years

Chapter Seventeen: Turel's Frenzy

* * *

What I saw as I stepped back into the main hall was _not_ what I had expected to see.

Bodies.

Perhaps sixty human bodies lay sprawled bloody, mangled, and very much dead all over the great hall.

...Needless to say I was not pleased.

Each of their bodies had been drained, from the looks of things. Whoever killed them had gluttoned themselves on all the blood. There was a shuffling from down one of the halls, and I remained where I was standing as Dumah and Rahab entered into the hall, not even noticing me as they walked forward to pick up another pair of bodies and start dragging them out.

The clearing of my throat was deafeningly loud, as my brothers whirled around to stare at me in shock. "R-raziel!" Dumah gasped, the body he was holding slipping from his grasp to fall to the floor. "You're awake!"

"I am," I replied coldly, walking over to them and stepping over the bodies as I went. "What the hell happened here?"

"When you didn't return to the hall, Turel sent Melchiah to go check up on you. When Melchiah told him that the same 'sickness' that had engulfed Kain had taken you with it, Turel went into a rage and began killing every human he could get his hands on." It was Rahab who replied, staring grimly at the dead bodies lying all around. "We heard the screaming and ran to see what had happened. Melchiah told us of your condition, and it was Dumah that realized he must have been in the Sleep of Change, and it had dragged you down with him."

"I'd found a few vampiric books in Vorador's library," Dumah explained, "And they mentioned how the metamorphosis sleep can be contagious, though it will not cause the others to change as well."

"In any case," Rahab continued gruffly, "We finally managed to restrain Turel, and confined him to his room. Melchiah and Zephon are guarding him now."

"How many humans survived?" Kain's cold voice growled from behind us. Both Rahab and Dumah turned to him in surprise, their shock growing as they took in his newly modified appearance. "And what have you been doing with the bodies?"

"Twenty-six," Dumah murmured, fascinated by Kain's hands and feet. "We've been taking the bodies and scattering them in the woods, leaving them for the ravens and the wolves to feast on. Hanging them in trees or shoving them beneath logs, whatever inconspicuous places we could find."

Kain snarled slightly, "You're fortunate winter is setting in. Once the corpses freeze, they'll provide an all-winter feast for the scavengers. Otherwise we'd have to worry about the forest suddenly adopting the stench of rotting meat." He paused slightly, smirking after a moment, "And without the usual number of winter-induced casualties in the predator population... Their numbers may indeed flourish and they could very well adopt a taste for human flesh, making these woods even more unfriendly to intruders. This could very well work to our advantage."

Both Rahab and Dumah seemed to relax a bit at this news, Rahab even going so far as to permit himself a small sigh of relief. Kain dismissed them back to their work with a flick of his cloven hand, then headed off for Turel's room. I followed into step behind him hesitantly, then more confidently as he made no complaint.

Melchiah and Zephon were every bit as surprised to see us as Rahab and Dumah, but neither spoke a word as Kain flippantly waved them aside and made his way into the room. Within, Turel stopped his pacing and turned to gape at us as well.

"I think..." Kain mused, gazing cooly upon Turel's gaze, which was an interesting mixture of defiant and cowed, "that a lesson in self control should be taught. From now on, in addition to your training with me, you will be taught how to better control your temper. Also, you will be solely in charge of rounding up a new herd for us. In response to your gluttony, you will only feed the bare minimum until I say otherwise. Do I make myself clear, Turel?"

Turel's head bowed, brows twisted in a scowl. "Yes, Kain."

"Also," he added, with a devious little smirk on his lips, "You will now call me Lord Kain, as I believe I am entitled."

...I should have known the change would go to his head.

* * *

A/N: I am a horrible, horrible person. . ; I am SO sorry. Also sorry the chapter's so short, but I think it's about time for a time jump. We basically know what's happening for a while now... Getting the human herd, fighting the cities, advancing Kain's reign, and his continuously swelling ego. I think I'll jump a couple hundred years ahead, about to the time when Raziel can start creating children of his own... Or maybe after he's created a few. While roleplaying with one of my friends dealing with the Razielim clan, there were quite a few characters that were crossovers from different games/stories. I may do this... but to keep it more 'realistic' to the LoK world, I would probably just use the characters and not include their pasts from the other games.

Also...

"Light", you were my 101st Reviewer and as such you get to pick out any scene from this pic for me to draw! Dun dun duuuuun! Drop me an e-mail at and let me know what you'd like that to be. If you don't want to, that's fine too, just let me know and I'll pass it to the next person.

THANKS EVERYONE!


	18. Chapter 18: The Next Generation

A Thousand Years

Chapter Eighteen: The Next Generation

Disclaimer: Vincent is copyright FFVII. Davoren is copyright to the author of What Lies Beneath the Snowfields. I just took the general characters and twisted them around a bit until they fit the plotline nicely. Author of Beneath the Snowfields: If you ever happen to read this and don't like what I've done with him, just drop me an e-mail and I'll change Davoren's name.

* * *

Gazing down upon the gypsy camp below me, I closed my eyes and let myself be enveloped in the intoxicatingly sweet music that drifted up from the campfires below. One family of gypsies were performing for the rest of the camp's delight. Though the gypsies were never aware of my presence, I grew to know that particular family almost intimately over the years since I've discovered them. The father, Thatcher Valentine, was a tall man with wild, untamable raven hair and gray-blue eyes. He altered between playing the violin and the percussion instruments. The mother, Victoria Valentine, was a beauty of medium height with deep blue eyes and thick curls of dark hair falling down her back. Her instrument of choice was her voice, but she would occasionally play the flute. They had two children: Vincent, now twenty-seven, was a strikingly handsome man with his father's untamable hair and his mother's fair skin and more effeminate features. He sang with his mother, but also knew how to play the guitar and the violin. His younger brother of twenty-three, Davoren, stood out amongst the group with his snow white skin and hair. That, and his pink eyes, identified him as being albino. Truly curious, I'd never seen or heard of an albino human before. I'd only seen it in rodents and the occasional deer. Anyway, Davoren played mostly the violin.

Aside from being very musically inclined, the family were almost inseperable. Thatcher and Victoria were as loving a couple as I'd ever seen, and they raised their sons to be gentlemen. Thatcher also took his sons hunting, and they were extremely skilled with crossbows. Many people think gypsies are nothing but tricksters, thieves, and murderers. Not this group. Romany gypsies, who lived off the land and often avoided the cities. One might think that because of this, they were the prime targets of vampires. Not true. We mostly left them alone because of one simple fact: they do not try to hinder us. They understand that vampires are higher on the food chain with them, and they understand they are prey. They do not try to hunt us into extinction. They simply try to do what they can to keep themselves safe. If attacked, they will defend themselves, but unlike the close-minded people of the cities, they do not hold any superiority complex against us. Such people should be left alive to breed more people of such a mindset. Things would be so much easier then.

All right, I suppose you'd like to know why exactly I've been watching this family for so many years. When I began watching them, I was nearing the age when I would finally be old enough to sire vampires of my own. I wanted my first children to be people who I felt would be able to accept the Dark Gift and find the good in it. I wanted them to be intelligent, and not wind up with another Melchiah or Turel. That would be unbearable.

Lord Kain actually has had us wandering on our own for a few years now. He said that we took the security of our home for granted, and should learn what it is like to fend completely for ourselves. Of course, he told us to check up with him once a week at first, then once a month. He was no longer able to feel an empathetic tie with us, he explained, so such meetings were necessary. We were to take no action against the humans other than self-defense and food. While battles are almost never boring, hundreds of years of it does get tiring without a break. I was actually glad of it.

Oh, and Dumah found something very interesting in one of the old tomes he'd found in some of the ancient vampiric ruins he'd come across om his own wanderings. He said if we fed our blood to a mortal, they would become 'ghouls'. Basically, they would gain a love-bond to the vampire whose blood they were fed, and if they were human, could very well be our agents of daylight, our retainers, able to do things we are limited by. This was not a permanent affliction, though. The blood would have to be fed to them at least once a month, and after three feedings, their love bond was at its most intense. They also gained many things, including immortality, resistance to disease, and additional strength and endurance. The only bad thing: if you have more than one three-steps-bound ghouls, they apparently have a tendency to fight each other if they sense any favoritism.

I tried it out on Necromancer (named after his great (seventeen times) grandfather), and succeeded in ghouling him to me. Which, frankly, was a relief. I hated having to deal with the deaths of my horses so often.

Back to the subject of the gypsies, though. I need to stop digressing.

The ladies of the camp always cooed and sighed wistfully over Vincent. I don't see why they didn't do the same to Davoren, he was strikingly handsome as well... Perhaps they were put off by his albinism. Yet, despite their attentions, Vincent never took any romantic interest in them of any sort. He had a love and possible wife, once, but the foolish wench betrayed him so badly that almost any self-esteem he had was obliterated. Led him on, teased and built up his hope, only to completely turn her back on him and run off with some ratty-looking, disgusting man. Hmph. He must have had large endowments. That's the only explanation I can possibly think of for her dumping Vincent for that rat. ...Dear God, I'm such a bloody fruit tart when it comes to good-looking men. I'll be talking with a gay lisp next.

A sudden commotion in the camp, and all the music abruptly stopped. I nearly groaned aloud. Whatever idiot had raised a panic had done it in the middle of one of my favorite songs. A teenaged boy soon gathered a crowd of curious and concerned gypsies as he gasped and babbled on about something or other. But with everyone else talking all at once, I could barely hear what was being said. Grumbling, I silently made my way down through the trees, staying out of sight and straining my hearing for what was being said. One of the gypsies finally managed to calm the boy down enough to get him to spit out what he wanted to say... and I nearly lost my composure upon hearing the little idiot had just slept with the Lord's daughter in the nearby city and the Lord caught them in the afterglow.

I thought it was funny as all hell, but the gypsies were always a cautious group, and everyone grumbled and moved to pack up their things in their caravans, perparing to leave while the boy got cussed out by his mother so voraciously it would have made a seasoned sailor blush. It was not long later that I perked my ears, picking up the muffled clinking of armor accompanied by the muffled footsteps of horses. My eyes widened slightly and I quickly moved to back away from the area, just as the Lord's men suddenly burst into the camp and began slaughtering everyone left and right, setting fire to their caravans.

The peaceful atmosphere shattered, screaming and wailing ensued as the guards tore into the camp and gutted it. No one was spared, not even the dogs. I frantically kept my eyes out for the Valentine family, and finally caught hold of Davoren's shock of white hair, illuminated by the moonlight. He and the others mounted their horses, dropping every possession they had and turned to flee. Unfortunately, the attack had not been head-on. They were met by more guards, and I couldn't help but feel the twisting knot in my stomach as I saw the family I'd grown to adore get slaughtered.

I couldn't go down to help them. No matter how much I wanted to, I could not. There was far too much fire, and far too many people. The gypsies would question my motives, and Lord Kain said we were not to engage humans in battle unless it was food or self-defense, and they were not attacking me. So, it was with resigned pain that I gazed down upon Vincent as he held his mother's dead body in his arms, cradling her close and burying his face in her hair. I watched Davoren and Thatcher fighting back-to-back with swords drawn. Thatcher, grabbing Davoren and shoving him toward one of the horses, screaming at him to go with Vincent and escape from here, to never look back. Davoren, pulling Vincent away from their mother as the pair mounted their only surviving horse and turning to run as Thatcher's head was separated from his body, rolling across the ground. A sudden rain of arrows, and Davoren dropped from the horse clutching his chest, his back riddled with the shafts of arrows. Vincent turned to try to catch him, but more arrows slammed into him and the horse he rode. With a screaming whinny, the horse reared up and tossed Vincent to the ground just before it landed on top of him, crushing him.

It was like a bad dream, when you know you're having one... Desperately wishing to wake up, wishing that it would stop, that you could just open your eyes and everything would be okay. All I could do was stand and watch as the guards killed off the entire camp within twenty minutes, and left the burning ruins to return to the castle. Another half an hour, and I slowly made my way down to the ruins, walking through the dead bodies and making my way over to where Vincent and Davoren had fallen. I knelt beside Davoren's body and gently turned him over, but knew before I touched him that he had already passed on. I gazed down at his handsome face, so close for the first time, and twisted my brows in remorse. That snow white skin was marred by stress lines around his eyes and mouth, probably from the constant teasing and ridicule he received from the others. Sighing, I slowly rose up and made my way over to the horse that trapped Vincent's body.

My walk slowed as I picked up the faint, weak fluttering of a heartbeat. Moving around, I came upon Vincent's upper half. The rest of him from the waist down was crushed by the massive horse lying dead upon him. Kneeling, I reached out and gently brushed away some of the unruly long strands of hair from his face, gazing down on the pale beauty. His eyes slowly opened, and he stared up at me dimly, up at my pained expression, his expression blank. His sweet, lovely voice came out a hoarse wheeze, "...Vampire... Why... the concern...?"

I gazed down into those deep blue eyes remorsefully and replied truthfully, "I have enjoyed the life of your family for many years now..."

"...Why?" He was fading. The life in his eyes was slowly dimming.

"...I want you to join me. You and your brother." Again, my fingers gently brushed the untamable strands from his face, but they stubbornly fell straight back into place.

His head turned slightly, turning his eyes fully upon me. "...Join you...? Become... a vampire?"

"Yes," I replied quietly.

"...Mother and Father..."

"They have lived full lives. Their time is done. But yours, and Davoren's, are just beginning..."

Technically, I didn't have to give them a choice. Technically, I could have killed them off at any time and changed them. But a part of me wanted to hear it from at least one of them, hear that they wanted to be a vampire, were at least somewhat interested in joining me.

Vincent had been quiet for so long I thought he'd slipped into unconsciousness, save for his gaze never wavering from mine. I believe he saw something in my eyes... my truthfulness, or maybe he simply saw that I wanted to give him that choice rather than making the choice for him. I didn't speak to him... I let his own mind do the thinking as his body continued to shut down. At last, his eyes began to drift closed, and he whispered, "...Not without Davoren..." Moments later, he was dead.

As the fires died down, I called Necromancer down to the campsite as I freed Vincent and removed the arrows from his and his brother's bodies. Necromancer shifted uncomfortably as I placed the two dead bodies over his back, apologizing to him softly as I tied the bodies down so they would not slip off. "My apologies, old friend, but this is necessary. Would you please be patient with me for a moment longer?" A resigned snort was all he would give me, and I smiled despite myself, before I went to Victoria's and Thatcher's bodies. Away from the campsite, I found a lovely place to bury the bodies: on a small hill above the river, where a weeping willow provided some shelter for the graves, and wild lavender would soon grow over them. Vincent and Davoren would hopefully appreciate the sentiment, if they even remembered their parents at all.

The thought turned my gaze skyward as Necromancer and I headed back to the 'home' I had made for myself. Would they remember their pasts? I know I didn't, but I had been dead for so long that my body had decayed away to nothing. These two had only just perished, and I hoped to change them very soon. But if they did not remember, would they still be the same people I had grown so attached to?

* * *

I'd spruced up one of the many vampiric ruins that lay scattered and abandoned all over Nosgoth. Well... spruced it up all that I could without drawing attention. Most of it still looked run down, but I'd repaired some of the inner stonework and that which could not be seen from the outside had been turned into a very nice location. The underground hallways were lined with marble pillars which had remained intact throughout the years, and old gold-framed paintings were still in place. Stone tiles lined the hallways, the ceilings stretching upwards in gothic archways. The stone walls were intricately designed without being overwhelmingly detailed, and I had put the sconces in the walls to use with candles. Dimmer than torches, but it added more to the genre, and they tended to last longer.

Branching off from the hallways were rooms of varying sizes. One was a large library still filled with old books. It was two stories tall, a curving stairway leading up to the walkways that led to the books along the walls on the second floor. You can imagine how often Dumah came to 'visit' just to get in that library. Another looked like a study, and yet another, a large bathing chamber (for which I am having a hard time deciding what to do with). Other hallways led down to the dungeons, which I've been remodeling to make rooms rather than cells. The cells are spacious enough to make rooms of, and the doorway is secure and reinforced, a good thing for if I should ever be ambushed.

It was to one of the cell/rooms that I had brought Vincent and Davoren, and it was there that I waited for Lord Kain's arrival. I'd sent him a telepathic message to meet me here, so he could instruct me as to how to change my first fledgelings. Fortunately, I did not have to wait for him long. I recognized the muffled sounds of his cloven feet carrying him in long, lazy strides over the stonework.

Rising from the bed I'd placed the two men, I turned to Lord Kain and knelt down on one knee, bowing my head. It still seemed strange for me to do this when we had 'grown up' knowing that such a formality was unnecessary. That he still insisted it to be done in private was somewhat irksome.

Lord Kain's appearance had changed yet again. While in the rest of us, our Gifts continued to manifest in abilities (and a light sprinkling of gold in the blue of my irises), Kain's gifts were changing his physical form as of late. He was taller, more muscular, and his veins were becoming more prominent. His skin was also adopting a slightly golden tint to it. (It looked almost green in certain types of lighting, and we _very_ quickly found out that to make any mention or reference to his skin being green was to merit a very swift and excruciatingly painful punishment.)

His golden eyes glanced to me and made a dismissing gesture while he walked over to the bodies and observed them in the dim lighting. "...I do hope you picked them for reasons other than their good looks, Raziel," he muttered lowly.

"Of course," I replied somewhat defensively. "I've been watching them for years now. They were gypsies - their camp was attacked and they were killed. I talked to Vincent - the dark-haired one - before he died, and he sounded like he would not mind being a vampire as long as his brother was at his side."

"Really," Kain replied sarcastically. "And what are they good for? Dancing, singing, drinking? Are they going to serenade the humans we battle against?"

"Vincent excells in the crossbow and Davoren is more skilled with a sword," I replied a touch coldly. "They are both very knowledgable in stealth and tracking, for they trained to hunt deer and rabbits. And we both know how blind, deaf, and clumsy humans are. Compared to deer and rabbits, humans are lumbering cows. They will have no problem at all."

He smirked at me, and I felt my blood boil slightly as I realized he was poking at my temper. He knew well about the gypsies and how preferable turning one of them would be to turning some random bum off the streets. He was simply giving me a hard time. "Well, Raziel, do you think you are truly old and skilled enough to handle the responsibility?"

I nodded curtly. "Yes, m'lord."

"And if you fuck up with them, you realize that I will not assist you in the matter?"

"...Yes."

"They must at all times live for our cause. If they do not wish to help fight our war, you will be the one to exterminate them. Do I make myself clear?" he growled lowly, his eyes locking on my own.

I frowned. "Yes, sir."

He smirked slowly. "Good. Now, we shall commence with the change. You can only turn one fledgeling a night, so choose wisely which one would be better able to handle it first."

"Vincent," I replied immediately. Davoren was more hot-tempered, and Vincent would hopefully remember what he had said with me.

"Very well. And you have fed well tonight?"

I huffed slightly. "I always do."

As always, he seemed amused by my temper. "Perfect. The process is more instinctual the first time. You'll get the hang of it very quickly. Go to Vincent's body. When there is a human that your vampiric instincts know would make a good fledgeling, you'll feel a sort of pull around your heart, especially when you are very close and they are already dead. You've probably already felt it." I.. supposed I had. I probably mistook it for grief over their loss... The feelings are more or less the same.

"When you've decided to change them, it may help to place your hands upon their chests so you can have both a physical and a spiritual link to them. Call out to their soul with your power. Close your eyes if it helps. You'll get the sensation of the world dropping out beneath your feet, and you will 'see' into the spiritual realm. You will 'see' the spirit of the one you wish to change. Lure them back to their bodies, draw them into it. Settle them in, and bind them there with your vampiric energy. That is the process which will change them. Open your eyes and withdraw, and behold your newly-born fledgeling."

I stared at him with an expression on my face that probably looked somewhat akin to 'what the bloody HELL are you talking about?' Slowly, I blinked, and replied in the most sarcastic tone I could muster, "...And you call that _instinctual?_"

Kain snorted. "You may not have been able to figure it out without being told, Raziel, but I certainly was. It was almost pathetically simple to figure out." His chin lifted up and he gazed down at me haughtily, smirking. "Though... I was quite a bit older, and _far_ more wise than you are at this point in time."

I gritted my teeth to keep from cursing at him. Once, his arrogance had been strangely arousing. Now, it was downright annoying. I just wanted to smack him. If he was so bloody smart, why was he the ONLY one in the entire existence of my life to NOT be able to pronounce my name correctly? 'Ra-', pronounced the same way as 'raw', is how it is supposed to be pronounced. RA-ziel. Not Raa-ziel. Dear god, it grates on my nerves.

"Right," I huffed. "Well. _Thank_ you for teaching me, Oh-Wise-And-Mighty Lord of Nosgoth. If you'll excuse me, I have fledgelings to create."

I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw ached while Lord Kain turned and strode from the dungeon, his head thrown back as he laughed uproariously. What a bastard.

I waited until he was completely gone from the castle before I turned to Vincent. Pausing a moment, I covered Davoren's body with a sheet. It might have been a little bit too unsettling for Vincent to awaken in a bed next to his deceased brother. Standing over him, I placed my hands over his chest and closed my eyes. The tugging around my heart reached out, my vampiric energy seeming to almost grow an appendage to reach out and brush over the body. Upon not sensing a soul, it delved into him to search, and true to Kain's word, I felt the ground just drop out beneath my feet. Abruptly, I opened my eyes, and sucked in a startled breath as I was suddenly within a cavernous area, with everything around me burning blue. Bright white souls drifted about, and my eyes were drawn to one of the souls drifting off by itself. Willing myself towards it, I reached out to touch the spirit's shoulder. The spirit turned to face me as I reached out and took its hand, gently giving a tug for it to follow.

Vincent's spirit seemed reluctant to follow at first, but sensed no malice from me as I drew him back up to his body. When he saw his body, he did not even hesitate. Somehow I understood that his death had been so recent, that as soon as his spirit saw his body, he would do all that he could to get back in it. From there, it was simple to bind him with my power, though I was a little unprepared for the exhaustion I felt as the tie was cut. I felt drained of my energy... and as I gazed down at Vincent, watching his ears gain a slight point to them, watching the lips part as fangs grew in his mouth, as his already-pale skin turned white as porcelain, I realized that, although I had given my power to him, I was still attached to it.

So, this was the empathetic bind that Kain experienced with us... The power within us was rightfully Kain's, and in a way we were extentions of Kain's energy. This was probably a sort of vampiric fail-safe... That if a fledgeling proved to be unworthy, the sire could withdraw their energy, and the fledgeling would simply die. But were the fledgeling to live long enough, eventually the energy within him would be recognized as his own, and any tie with the sire would be severed. The empathy was a direct cause of Kain's vampiric energy in us sending our messages back to him.

Vincent's eyes slowly opened... Drowsy, stiffly... Muscles attempting to move after having been locked up in rigor mortis. His eyes snapped to my own, brows drawing downward in abrupt recognition. I felt relief flood through me, glad to know that he still remembered the life he had before. I eased myself down to sit on the bed as he stiffly sat up and regarded me with an almost unsettling stony gaze. "...You're the--" Abruptly he cut himself off, reaching a hand up to touch the fangs he felt within his mouth, but his hand didn't even reach as he caught sight of his nails, now turned to sharp claws. His thin, dark brows shot up in surprise as he looked at me again, seemingly lost for words.

I offered a slightly tired smile. "Yes. My name is Raziel." I paused a moment, unsure as to how to continue. _Damn, I should have thought up a speech or something..._ "...I'm sorry, I haven't revived your brother yet. I won't be able to until tomorrow evening."

"..." Vincent turned his head, wispy raven hair falling all around his face, turning to stare at the sheet-covered body to his side. His expression became pained for a moment, then cleared to a blank expression. "Perhaps that is best. I would like to know what this life will be like first. If it is something truly loathsome and undesirable, at least Davoren won't have to experience it."

I nodded gently. "Like everything else in this world, Vampirism has its pros and cons. On the one side, you gain capabilities far superior to a human's. Your vision, hearing, smell, strength, speed, and endurance are all amplified. A new world will open up to you. There is also the intense pleasure of feeding. On the other hand, you are unable to touch water, and you must stay out of the sunlight for your first century or so. The foods you enjoyed as a human, you are unable to consume now..."

* * *

Long into the night, we spoke. Actually... I spoke. Vincent barely said a thing. Without his family around him, he seemed the type to only speak when he had something important or necessary to say. Which, frankly, was all right with me. I told him about my own rebirth, about Lord Kain and our mission. I told him of the tales of my past (the less... personal ones), of our victories and defeats, our discoveries and such. Through it all, Vincent remained raptly attuned to every word.

Finally, as dawn began to approach, I slowed in mid-sentence as I felt an almost agonizingly intense hunger. I nearly slapped myself in realization that it was not I that was hungry, but Vincent, and I'd completely neglected to feed him. And he'd neglected to say a bloody word about it. With a sigh, I stated, "You're hungry."

Vincent blinked slightly, calm as ever. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"..." Vincent turned his head to the side, gathering his thoughts. "...Your words are more important than my hunger at this moment."

I sighed and took off one of my gloves, offering my wrist out to him. "Drink. You need to if you're going to survive the night."

Vincent looked skeptically at my wrist, then at me. I suddenly got the impression that such an obviously intimate thing should only be done between lovers, and not between nearly-complete strangers, especially if what I had said about the pleasure of feeding was true. I blinked slightly. This empathy thing was definitely going to take some getting used to.

Finally, he relented, and delicately grasped my wrist in his long, pale fingers. Slowly lifting it up to his mouth, his instincts took over, and his fangs sunk into my skin. I tried to prepare myself for the pleasure, but the feeling of Vincent drinking from my blood was double the ecstacy of anything I'd ever experienced. My spine nearly bowed with the intensity of it, of the heated white waves of pleasure pounding through my body. It must have been the empathetic link, I was feeling both my own and his pleasure. If this was how it felt, how the hell could Kain have _possibly_ kept his composure?

Distantly, I felt that he would drain me dry if I did not stop him immediately, and so I struggled to pull my wrist back, whispering breathlessly, "Vincent... stop... that's enough!"

Abruptly he released my wrist and let his back hit the headboard, clamping a hand over his mouth and closing his eyes as he gasped for breath and struggled to regain his own composure. His chest heaved, his skin slightly flushed with the fresh blood running through his system. Once again I was thankful for tight leather pants, and pitied Vincent's oh-so-apparent state at the moment.

I suddenly realized that Vincent was whispering something. I leaned forward slightly and caught the faintly whispered apology on his lips. "...You're sorry? For what? It was your first feeding... And you were starving besides."

"...I nearly drained you..." he managed to whisper from behind his hand, eyes still screwed shut, apparently doing all he could to control the raging desire.

"Really, Vincent, it's all right," I reassured him somewhat breathlessly. A thought abruptly occured to me. What would happen if I _had_ been drained dry? I didn't think it would kill me, but I couldn't be sure... Another question to ask of Lord Kain later. After we'd each had a few minutes to calm down, I murmured, "You're feeling better, now?" A simple nod was all I got. Yes, his hunger was sated, and the raging desire had faded, but he was ashamed of his own reaction. I sighed softly, "You'll get used to it in time... In any case, it is just about dawn. Get some rest, and we'll decide tomorrow whether or not you wish to continue, and whether or not you'd like your brother changed."

Vincent's eyes slowly opened, gazing up at me as I rose up and departed from the cell. I attempted to try and pick up on what he was feeling, but he was lost in his thoughts already, and I could not sense a thing as to what he was feeling. Perhaps he was simply feeling nothing... I couldn't be sure. I only hoped that tomorrow evening I would not have to return him to his grave.

* * *

A/N: Eheh... Long chapter. I hope this makes up at least a little for the long-ass time it's taken me to get this out. To my 101st reviewer, "Light" : A massive apology to you especially, for taking so long to get the chapter out. I lost your e-mail address somewhere along the way so I couldn't just send you the link to the picture once I'd finished it.

Since I can't post the link here on the page, just send me an e-mail with a request and I'llreply witha link to the page it's on. This goes for everyone who wants to see it!

Raziel: Yes, I do believe you owe them at least that much for making them wait so long.

ShadowWolf: Hey! ...Be nice to me, I'm a procrastinator.

Raziel: Pshaw. (Bonks her on the head) You need to get out of that habit. Badly.

ShadowWolf: Ow... (Clutches her head)

Vincent: ... (Bonks her head as well)

ShadowWolf: OW. Hey! What was that for!

Vincent: ...For stating my obvious condition after feeding for the first time. That was unnecessary. For killing my family. That was highly unnecessary.

ShadowWolf: I had to! You're not Vincent without being uber-angsty, and with the way I had your family, I had to figure out a good way to make sure you'd BE angsty.

Vincent: ...How... _thoughtful_ of you.

ShadowWolf: Shut up. I love you. Hence the Dirge of Cerberus wall scroll, the solid resin statue of you, the Advent Children action figure of you, oh, and the two-foot $850 Dollfie I modified to look just like you. And the smaller $60 dollfie that I moded after you.

Raziel: Yeah. And she only has one action figure of me. So consider yourself special.

Vincent: ... (Strokes his chin thoughtfully) ...Perhaps.

Kain: What happened to the action figure you had of ME?

ShadowWolf: ...It's buried somewhere in my closet because it's freakin' FUGLY.

Kain: ...! (Tears build in his eyes) I am NOT fugly!

ShadowWolf: No, you're not fugly at all. Which is why I hate that action figure.

Kain: ...Oh. (Ego re-inflates)

ShadowWolf: Yeah. Stop ganging up on me! I updated and got the piccie done! Be proud of me!

Raziel: Hmm... Maybe this calls for nookie...

ShadowWolf: ...But I thought you were gay!

Raziel: Not with YOU. (Looks at Vincent)

Vincent: ... (Shimmies behind the 5'1'' ShadowWolf and tries to hide)

ShadowWolf: (Exaspirated look) You suck.

Raziel: No, tonight someone else will be doing the sucking! (Wanders off)

ShadowWolf: Jerk.


	19. Chapter 19: Rise of the Razielim

A Thousand Years

Chapter 19: The Rise of the Razielim

* * *

I awakened shortly before nightfall. Rising from my bed, I left the small chamber and headed down to the cell where Vincent slept. Upon my arrival, I stopped cold at the sight before me. Vincent was still asleep, but he was curled up at the side of his brother's deceased body. His cheek rested on Davoren's chest, one hand cradling his brother's head, fingers twined in the limp, white hair.

My heart gave a twinge of sympathy for the two brothers. I couldn't tear my gaze from them, not even as I felt the sun set, and Vincent slowly began to stir. His intense, cerulean eyes snapped open; his body straightened, staring down in stunned horror at Davoren's body, until the memories of the previous day came crashing back to him. My eyes softened at the emotional agony I could feel within him. "Vincent..." The young man's gaze snapped around to stare at me. He'd been so deep in memories, I'd startled him... And he did not like that at all. He also didn't like that I'd been watching him in his grief, that I'd seen his emotions. I could feel him building up a mental barrier, and sighed. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you. If you'd like, I can take you to the place where I buried your parents."

My words left him midly stunned, and his suspicious gaze rested on me once again. "...You buried them?" I nodded to confirm his question, and his gaze narrowed further. "Why?"

"They deserved a respectable burial. I was very fond of them as well."

Vincent searched my gaze, his fingers still imbedded within Davoren's hair. I found it curious that his skin was nearly the same color as his brother's albino locks, now. If Vincent decided it all right for his brother to be changed as well, he would be an excellent hunter in the wintertime and the mountains. It would be like trying to find a snowshoe rabbit in a blizzard. I was drawn out of my thoughts by his eventual slow nod. "...I would like to see where they were buried."

"And perhaps later, I can take you to feed." I could feel that Vincent was hungry again. I didn't want to feed him too much of my blood, because... Well, it was known for vampires to occasionally devour the blood and souls of other vampires to gain their strength and abilities... But none of the ancient books said anything about a vampire feeding on excessive amounts of vampire blood. I didn't know if it would have ill effects or not... And I didn't want to risk it.

Vincent rose reluctantly from his brother's body, covering him once more with the blanket before turning to follow me out. His body was stained with dry blood, and his clothes were ripped and tattered. Perhaps he picked up my thoughtful gaze, because he glanced down at himself and frowned. "...I have a question."

"Ask away," I replied easily, turning to head up out of the dungeon.

"...If vampires cannot tolerate water, how do you stay clean?"

"Sand baths, actually." I found myself walking just slightly faster than normal, so Vincent would not have to slow his normal pace in order not to trip over me. Damn my short legs! "We scoop up handfulls of sand and rub them over whatever is dirtying our bodies. It scrapes it off, and we are tough enough that it will not irritate our skin as much. Vampires do not sweat, or make other unpleasant excretements. We cry blood. We... ejaculate blood. That is the only body fluid we can produce."

Vincent paused, absorbing the information, before asking another question. "What about clothing?"

"We can wash them, we just have to use special gloves when doing so, so we do not get burned." I led him down the candle-lit hallways, and felt an appreciative wonder fill me. It took me a moment to realize that it was another of Vincent's reactions. It seemed he liked the architecture. I had to suppress laughter at the thought of trying to throw in every single pro I could imagine. 'Yes, and if you stay a vampire, you can live in this place! I can see that you like it very much! You don't have to pay for a thing! Cool, huh? Definitely worth it!' ...That wouldn't flow well with Vincent. "It'll be fairly easy getting the two of you some new clothes... If you decide you're willing to join our cause, that is."

"...You mentioned that Lord Kain's cause was to take over this planet?" He commented in a rather droll tone, clearly not very impressed with that.

"Yes," I sighed. "That is what my brothers and I were created for. It's why we exist, and it is why you, in turn, would exist." I paused. "It's really not all that bad. We only fight those who oppose us. Children are spared. Women are spared as long as they aren't wielding weapons against us. According to Lord Kain, it is simply the more dominant species asserting their control over the lesser. We may surpass humans in our abilities, but they surpass us in numbers, and they hunt us down. Lord Kain was the sole survivor of the last vampire purge, so he is quite truthfully the father of all vampires today. He said it was his destiny to rule this planet." I smirked back over my shoulder, "He also has an ego about the size of a mountain, and it keeps growing. But hopefully you shouldn't have to deal too much with him. That'll be my job."

Vincent didn't respond, and I already found it harder to be able to pick up on his emotions. I almost started wondering if perhaps he knew of our empathetic link and was determined not to let me into his thoughts. Another sigh, and I brought him out into the night. I hoped, if I was successful in convincing the brothers to stay, that at least Davoren would be a bit more lively. It was strange, but I didn't exactly feel lonely by myself... Yet, around Vincent, I did. Definitely weird.

I led Vincent over to where Necromancer stood grazing, climbing up easily onto his back. I offered my hand to Vincent to assist him in climbing up Necromancer's back, and was slightly put off when he refused it and climbed up on his own behind me. I felt my temper start to rise slightly. I didn't like being shirked when I'd been nothing but kind to him. Biting my tongue against any sharp words, I turned and nudged my heels into Necromancer's side, taking off toward the Valentine burial site. Vincent rode silently behind me, his hands placed on the horse's rump to steady himself rather than holding on to me.

I felt that quiet wonder again, and had to stop myself from glancing back at Vincent. His barrier had lowered enough so that I could sense his awe at his awakened senses... I couldn't remember what human senses were like, so I didn't exactly go through the wonderment that he currently was. He was amazed at how well he could see through the darkness, and occasionally his head would sharply turn from one side to another as his keen ears picked up on the wildlife here and there. He took deep breaths, inhaling the scents of the world around him. He felt more alive as a vampire than he did as a human... And I could feel that he was having a difficult time understanding that.

Easing up on the reins, Necromancer slowed to a stop not far from the single mound of dirt where Thatcher and Victoria were buried. Vincent slid down off the horse's back behind me, walking past to where his parents lay resting. Kneeling down to the slightly raised mound of dirt, he placed his hand over it and closed his eyes. His lips moved in a silent prayer, his long midnight hair hanging down over his features. Quickly, I felt any irritation dissipitate. What right did I have to be angry at him? So he was giving me the cold shoulder right now. So what? He'd just lost everything he cherished, all in one night. He had every right to be a bit cold and distant.

I remained seated on Necromancer, waiting patiently for Vincent to be ready to leave. After a while, he finally rose to his feet and turned to walk back to me. He stopped in front of me, deep blue eyes gleaming like sapphires in the moonlight. He seemed to be searching my gold-flecked eyes for something. "...Why do you remain a vampire?" he eventually asked in his deep, softspoken voice. "What reason do you find to continue on this plane of existence?"

His question startled me, and I fell silent as I pondered his question, and my answer to it. "...This is all I know. I don't see a reason as to why I shouldn't be a vampire."

"Do you not remember your life as a human?" His gaze was almost unsettling, so steady and cold it sent a chill up my spine.

"No... I'd been dead for a very long time before Kain resurrected myself and my brothers. The question I would ask myself is not what reason I had to live, but what reason I had to die." I turned my gaze thoughtfully to the half moon above us. "I've been given another chance to live... And I enjoy it. I enjoy living."

Vincent's monotone voice drew my gaze back down to him. "...But you are not living. You are un-dead."

"I feel alive," I replied simply. "My heart still beats. What is it that classifies me as un-dead? I smile when I am content. I frown when I am angry. I cry when I am sad. I laugh when I am happy." I smiled down at Vincent. "I love to laugh. I think that's my favorite thing to do."

Vincent's gaze did not leave mine, his thoughts in quiet debate. After nearly a full minute of staring, he finally sighed. "...Very well. I accept your offer, Raziel." Surprise must have shown on my face, for his brows lifted slightly, and the faintest of smiles touched his lips. "You are correct. Davoren and I are being given a second chance at living. I am not ready to die yet, and I believe Davoren will take well to this new life. He was not easily accepted by humans. Perhaps vampires will be more accepting."

My lips curved into a smile as I reached my hand down once again to him. This time, he let his slim hand fall into mine, grasping it firmly as he pulled himself up behind me. My heart swelled as he placed his hands at my sides, and together we rode off to the nearby village to feed.

My inner devil cackled gleefully, as it was the same village responsible for killing Vincent's family. This village was about to become my clan's prime hunting grounds. Sweet, poetic justice at its best.

* * *

I postponed Davoren's resurrection for the following night, as much of the current night had already been spent. Besides, it would recover just that much more of my energy, and Davoren would be stronger as a result. It also gave me some time to find clothing for both Vincent and Davoren. Vincent dressed his brother before I woke him, stating simply that it would probably be a bit less disturbing if he didn't wake up in the blood-stained clothes he died in. I could understand his point.

Vincent barely left my side as I was preparing, worrying like a mother hen over his little brother's potential reaction to his change in lifestyle. He looked carved out of stone on the outside, but I was finding our empathetic link to be extremely useful in understanding my mostly silent child.

After Vincent and I fed, we went down to the cell to where Davoren lay. I felt a little sickened as he had started to accumulate a rather pungeant stench as his corpse began to rot. My jitteriness was echoed by Vincent's own nervousness. The longer I waited, the more I struggled to keep my hands from shaking, but my nerves would not settle. What if Davoren decided he didn't like it? What if he was repulsed by what he'd become? Everything was up to Davoren right now. If he refused the Gift, Vincent would too, and I'd lose them both. Lord Kain would scoff and sneer and chuckle, admonishing me for my soft-hearted stupidity. My brothers would hear about it and do the same.

I shook my head abruptly, straightening up. I could not doubt. I had to believe in Davoren and in my own ability to let him see this life in a way he would enjoy. I had to give him a chance. I couldn't give up on him before I'd even gotten started. Once I'd reached that conclusion, I bent down over Davoren, sought out his soul, and guided it back into his body. Vincent watched the change from behind me with a dark fascination.

What felt like an eternity later, Davoren's albino-pink eyes drifted open, staring up into my eyes. He blinked as I stepped back, and I could feel his confusion. He'd felt the pain of his wounds, felt his body shut down and die... And now he was awake, staring up at me, his gaze slowly shifting over to his brother. "...Vincent?"

My black-haired child went over to his brother, sitting down beside him to grasp him in his arms, embracing him tightly. Davoren embraced him in return with more than a little confusion, and I began to realize about that time that each of my children had their own 'color' in my mind. With Vincent, it was difficult to distinguish his feelings from my own, but I would later find out from Kain that it was because we had a similar 'color'. He mentioned offhandedly that he experienced the same confusion that first night he changed me, but it cleared up once my brothers were created. I didn't know what our colors were supposed to mean, and neither really did Kain.

Vincent's feelings and thoughts were crimson in my mind; Davoren's were azure. Please don't patronize me... I felt the need to fancy up the words. When describing those colors in my mind, they are varying. Red can be any number of shades, as can blue. Crimson is overlayed with a bit of darkness, and suggests a deeper passion and sensuality (don't ask me how I can equate that word with Vincent...), like blood. I relate Davoren's azure with the ocean - at some times calm and serene, at other times moody and tempermental. Oh, this was going to be fun.

"Vincent... What's happening?" Davoren's voice was low and almost inaudible. He'd discovered his fangs and claws, his marble-like skin.

"We've been offered another chance," Vincent replied quietly, still holding his brother close while showing him his own claws. "Raziel has made us into vampires."

Davoren gave his brother an odd look. "...And you're okay with this?"

"If you are," he replied simply. "Raziel changed me a couple of days ago. He has been teaching me what it's like."

A low laugh escaped my white-haired son. "Sucking blood and avoiding fire, sunlight, and water?"

"So much more than that," Vincent corrected gently. "We may be 'undead' now, but we are still alive. It's simply a change in lifestyle."

Davoren's skepticism turned in my direction. "So, Raziel... Why did you change us? What are we to you?"

My posture straightened slightly, my chin lifting in defense. "You are my childer. I've watched your family for years, and I witnessed the death of your tribe. Before he died, I gave Vincent the option of whether or not he desired a second chance. 'Not without Davoren,' was his reply."

"So we're just a charity case." Davoren's pink eyes never left me. He was far more cynical and outspoken than Vincent, who was more content to just brood over his thoughts.

"Not so," I replied. "Lord Kain has instructed his childer to go forth and begin building their armies." I held up a hand to stop what was going to come out of his mouth next. "Let me continue. While my brethren will probably be going out to build massive armies with no thought whatsoever to those they change, I wish to be more than the commander of an army of my childer. They will create childer as cannon fodder, as tools to bring them closer to their goals. I will create childer to give them another chance at enjoying life."

Davoren snorted. "Oh really. So when Lord Kain decides that we go into war, we'll be hippies smoking a joint and proclaiming peace and love?"

I stared at him for the span of about three seconds before I broke down into laughter. So strong was the image in my head of the three of us doing just that, I had to sit down at the end of the bed, I was laughing so hard. Vincent was rather innocently examining some of the moss on the stone wall, lips pressed together to conceal a smirk. Eventually Davoren couldn't help it and started laughing as well.

"Davoren," I finally managed to gasp, snickering under my breath, "There is nothing that says we vampires can't enjoy our lives. I want to build a family unit, a clan that works together for simple care and respect for one another, rather than as an obligation for a leader. I believe we would stand the best chance of success if we had soldiers that were also a close-knit family, soldiers that would help each other out on the battlefield rather than concentrating on the glory or survival of oneself."

Davoren's expression sobered as he stared straight into my eyes. "You'll be setting yourself up for a lot more heartache."

"I know," I replied. "The death of any of my childer will bring much grief with it. But I would feel more comfortable with myself if I felt that pain rather than nothing at all."

All of us were silent for the next couple of minutes, each thinking our own thoughts (though I was eavesdropping in on the thoughts of my childer), until Davoren finally got to his feet, brushed himself off, and demanded Vincent and I show him what exactly his new life would entail.

* * *

Those first two weeks passed quickly in lessons and basic training for my two sons. It was ridiculously easy as compared to my own lessons. They had all the grace and agility that their gypsy heritage provided them, and they were hunters long before they became vampires. In those two weeks, they learned what it took me nearly two months to accomplish. They forgot their human limitations and excelled in the abilities of our kind.

When they were not learning, they assisted me in making the castle a more liveable place. We cleaned out the cells that they would use as bedrooms, removing the iron bars and replacing them with stone walls and wooden doors, which Davoren made. Our only problem now was getting it furnished.

Davoren came up with the idea. Why not pay a visit to the estate of the lord in the village nearby, the one that was responsible for their deaths? We were sure he had plenty of furniture and money to spare... Money, because Vincent could then go into the city and buy whatever materials they needed to build furniture that would be too cumbersome to move.

Lord Kain would probably have said something to the effect of 'You're being petty, lowering yourselves to common thieves and forgetting your pride as a vampire'... Either that, or he'd pat us on the back and compliment us on using our skills to get whatever we wanted. Either way, I looked forward to our mission.

* * *

A/N: I'm still alive, guys!! It's okay!!

I'm sooo, so sorry I haven't updated in about half a year... I fell into a big slump. Too many deaths, too much writer's block, too little motivation to get back up on my feet, too much work, too little time. Things should be getting much better now. Especially since I'm going to Japan on the 12th of January. WOOHOO!!!!! XD XD XD I need a vacation.

Thanks so much for your support, guys. Thanks especially to Jewel Reaver. Without all you guys, this fic would have died a long time ago.

BLOOPER TIME!!

Kain: Raziel, put on your armor and gather your sons. It's time to go to war again.

Raziel: (Sucking on a joint, sitting in a cloud of smoke with Vincent and Davoren) Naaah, man, chill. Peace out.

Kain: ... (Stares at Raziel for a long time) Have you lost your mind?!

Raziel: I've seen the light, dude... It's like.. so tubular. You just gotta find loooove, man. Then everything's all right.

Davoren: Dude... That is so, like... deep, n' stuff.

Vincent: Righteous.

Kain: O.o; ...What the hell are you smoking that can make a vampire high?!

Raziel: We're high on _life_, man. That's the ultimate high.

Kain: ... (Turns to leave)

Raziel: Oh...!! OH!! SWEET!! (Swoon) I'm meta-whatsis-ing!! (Falls over)

Davoren: (Stares) ...Dude, that's one sweet high.

Vincent: I believe he's in metamorphosis.

Davoren: Oh. TUBULAR.

Kain: (Looks back) ...?

Raziel: (A pair of faerie wings burst from his back) GROOVY!!

Davoren: Sweeeeeet.

Vincent: Righteous.

Kain: ...I always knew you were a fairy. You've finally become on the outside what you always were on the inside. (Leaves in disgust)

Davoren: Peace out, man.

Vincent: (Makes the peace sign)

Raziel: (Stares at his wings, entranced by the pretty colors)


End file.
